With the city of Del Mar following Solana Beach’s lead this week in banning cigarette smoking at all its parks and beaches, we’ve got to wonder what the other jurisdictions in our area are waiting for.

Beyond the waste implications — cleanup volunteers have said most of the trash they pick up from our beaches is composed of cigarette butts — Del Mar’s prohibition on lighting up in these high-traffic areas clears the air of harmful, secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke is more than a personal issue for individual smokers. It’s a public health issue that must be addressed beyond the 5.2 square miles of Del Mar and Solana Beach, and it’s time the cities of San Diego, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside and the county of San Diego got on board.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 65,000 nonsmokers die every year from heart disease and lung cancer as a direct result of secondhand smoke. It takes less than 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke to impair a nonsmoker’s coronary circulation.

Cigarette smoke has been classified as a Class A carcinogen — it’s on the same list as radon, benzene and asbestos. California recently upgraded secondhand smoke as a toxic air pollutant.

Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to children. It increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, lower and upper respiratory infections — such as bronchitis and pneumonia — and middle ear infections. Breathing secondhand smoke also slows children’s ability to heal, so once they get sick from secondhand smoke, it takes them longer to get better.

What’s more, children who grow up watching adults smoke are more likely to become smokers when they get older.

The smoking ban has benefits for smokers, too. A 1999 survey conducted by UCSD found that 31 percent more smokers who lived in smoke-free environments tried to quit as opposed to those living and working in areas where smoking was allowed. Eighty-two percent said they became light smokers, and 40 percent said they planned to quit within the next six months.

All of our beaches and public parks should be smoke-free. Not only would such a ban cut down on trash, but it would also reduce dangerous air pollution, make our public spaces more healthy for nonsmokers, set a good example for our children and encourage smokers to quit.

Del Mar and Solana Beach should be commended for taking the lead, and our other cities and the county should follow suit.