Today, City Council will discuss a proposal by Mayor Rocky Anderson's office to forbid smoking in the capital's 75 parks - including Library Square and the grounds around City Hall - and within 50 feet of gatherings that draw at least 500 people, such as the city's July jazz festival.

The proposed ordinance also would cover the city cemetery, baseball diamonds, soccer fields and trails.

Violators could be fined up to $299.

"As science goes forward, we're finding out about the toxic effects of secondhand smoke. We've all been surprised at how bad it really is," said Abbie Vianes, coordinator of Anderson's Coalition on Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs, which initiated the proposal. "It is time to do something."

The goal is to protect children from secondhand smoke. The U.S. surgeon general warns breathing even small amounts can be dangerous - particularly to children, who run an increased risk of asthma, respiratory infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, sudden infant death syndrome and cancer after exposure.

The smoke - which carries more than 4,000 chemicals - also can cause coronary heart disease and lung cancer in adults, according to a 2006 surgeon general's report.

City Council Chairman Dave Buhler, for one, supports the proposed ordinance and predicts a majority of the seven-member council would, too. "It's clearly a public-health issue, and many cities have done similar kinds of bans."

Besides banning smoking in indoor public places such as restaurants and bars, several U.S. cities have forbidden it outdoors, including at sports venues, beaches and golf courses. Some estimates put the number of cities restricting outdoor smoking at 400. San Francisco bans smoking in parks; San Diego at beaches.

Since 2003, at least nine Utah cities have prohibited smoking in parks: Clinton, Hyde Park, Logan, Midvale, Riverton, Sandy, South Jordan, Spanish Fork and West Jordan, according to Salt Lake City research.

Tom Guinney, a partner in the restaurant group Gastronomy and a member of the Salt Lake Valley Board of Health, was pleased to hear of Salt Lake City's efforts. But he would rather see the state step in with similar legislation "for consistency."

He said he's working on legislation that would ban smoking at public gatherings of 500 or more, even on private property. An example: Prohibiting smoking at Snowbird's Oktoberfest, but not at private wedding receptions held at the ski resort.

"The public does want to see some type of momentum in this area," Guinney said.

It has been a goal of the Salt Lake Valley Board of Health to get every city in the county to forbid smoking in public spaces. It considered, and then rejected, a wholesale ban on outdoor smoking until "more conclusive scientific research can demonstrate a stronger relationship between outdoor tobacco smoke and negative health effects," according to minutes of the board's 2005 meeting.

Barbara Escalanti, manager of the Smoker Friendly shop at 824 W. North Temple, isn't convinced of the science. Nor is she sure that the proposed ban would help.

"When you start banning things, that's when people do it more. Look back at Prohibition. Do you think they went without liquor? No, they didn't.

"It's not going to make them quit smoking," she added, noting that she limits her smoking when she is around others. "I've been a smoker all my life. It's one of the worst habits you could ever have. It is a habit, and it's a hard one to quit. The state trying to tell everybody what they can do and can't do is sad."

Salt Lake City's attempts come on the heels of Utah legislation passed earlier this year that calls for all bars and private clubs to be smoke-free by 2009.

The proposed city ordinance wouldn't prohibit smoking on city sidewalks, except within parks.

hmay@sltrib.com