The end is nigh for smoking and vaping in Washoe County’s public parks.

Four Washoe jurisdictions — Reno, Sparks, the Sun Valley General Improvement District and the county itself — have banded together to ban smoking and vaping in parks in an effort to create a cleaner and more healthy public space.

But the ban's goal goes further than combating smoking-related health issues; it’s also an attempt to make public spaces cleaner and more inviting.

Smoking in parks has “definitely been an issue,” said Jaime Schroeder, Reno’s interim director of parks and recreation and community services. “The good news is that 85 percent of residents are not smokers, so it’s not an overwhelming issue — other than having to do the cigarette butt cleanups.”

Those cleanups have been substantial, Schroeder said.

Visitors will soon see “Thank you for keeping your park smoke & vape free” signs at parks across Washoe County, but consequences for breaking that rule vary from location to location.

Right now, peer pressure and gentle enforcement from park staff are what’s enforcing this rule in Reno and county parks — at least initially. But in Sparks, repeat violators of the new law could be given a misdemeanor citation.

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Sam Gross is a breaking news reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal who covers wildfires, emergencies and more. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.