A rule to ban smoking out in the open air on hiking trails, picnic areas, and common areas of campgrounds is under consideration by the Oregon Parks Department.
Department official Chris Havel said Wednesday the agency is following through on an executive order from the governor to reduce the public's exposure to secondhand smoke.
He adds that a smoking ban would also help limit the problem of discarded cigarette butts that never really go away.
A series of public hearings is contemplated in the second week of January, and the parks commission is to take up the issue at its February meetings.
Havel says the rules wouldn't take effect until 2015.
The propsed ban would not apply to personal campsites or the beach, which is a state park.
