No smoking. . . outside?

That’s a possibility if you live or visit New York City, should Dr. Thomas A. Farley, the city’s health commissioner, gets his way. In September, Farley said he would pursue a smoking ban in the city’s outdoor parks and beaches.

New York already has a well-known indoor smoking ban in place. In 2002, the first year of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s term, the city outlawed smoking in almost all indoor public, workplace, or commercial areas, including bars and restaurants (cigar bars were exempted, however).

“The New York City proposal would affect more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities, as well as the city’s seven beaches, which span 14 miles of shoreline,” reports The New York Times.

The outdoor smoking ban is discussed in the “Be Tobacco Free” section of “Take Care New York 2012,” produced by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The New York City Council has already moved forward with another piece of legislation aimed at curbing tobacco use. On October 14, by a vote of 46 to 1, city legislators approved a ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco, cigars included. (This is similar to a recent FDA ban on flavored cigarettes, but not flavored cigars.)

Mayor Bloomberg has indicated he will sign the legislation into law.