| " The number of cities and counties that bar smoking in outdoor areas -- including parks, cafes, concert venues, stadiums and beaches -- has soared from 30 in 1999 to at least 1,124 today, according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, an advocacy group that tracks local ordinances. " " "What we're seeing is the trend is going from the inside out," says Cynthia Hallett, the foundation's executive director. She says many places that have indoor bans are expanding their restrictions, which include 47 beaches and 222 parks. " " "In some cases, (bans) are about fire safety," says Steven Feldman, spokesman for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The National Zoo in Washington, which had small fires linked to cigarette butts, banned smoking in December. " " At least 81 zoos have gone smoke-free and 88 others have designated smoking areas, Feldman says. He says zoos have acted because many visitors are children. " " The beach bans were motivated partly by litter concerns, Hallett says. Cigarettes are the top source of debris in global beach cleanups led by the Ocean Conservancy. " " Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez says littering is a problem, but he pushed for an outdoor ban mostly for health reasons. "No amount of smoking is good for you," he says. " " Stanford University researchers found, in a study published in May, that people sitting within 2 feet of a single cigarette at an outdoor cafe could inhale as much secondhand smoke as in a smoky tavern. " " The study
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