Tobacco-Free Policies for Parks & Outdoor Recreation

•  Parks are established to promote healthy activities. The purpose of park areas is to promote community wellness. Tobacco-Free policies promote healthy communitiesand protect the health, safety, and welfare of community members. 
• Secondhand smoke harms everyone. Secondhand smoke is a human carcinogen for which there is no safe level of exposure.¹ Exposure to secondhand smoke has immediate health consequences such as asthma attacks and other respiratory diseases. 
• Secondhand smoke is harmful in outdoor settings. According to Repace Associates, secondhand smoke levels in outdoor public places can reach levels as high as those found in indoor facilities where smoking is permitted. ²
• Policies reduce litter and maintenance costs. Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world.  Discarded cigarettes pollute the land and water and may be ingested by toddlers, pets, birds or fish.³   
• Tobacco-free policies help change community norms. Tobacco-free policies establish the community norm that tobacco use is not an acceptable behavior for young people or adults within the entire community.⁴ 
• Policies provide consistency among community athletic facilities and groups.  All school districts prohibit tobacco use on their entire grounds. Many community athletic associations have policies but use city or county athletic facilities without tobacco use policies.  A tobacco free policy creates continuity and eliminates confusion about which facilities are tobacco free. 
• Tobacco-free environments promote positive community role modeling.  Recreational leaders and coaches become role models, which sends a powerful message to youth that tobacco use is not part of a healthy lifestyle.
• Tobacco-free policies help break the connection between tobacco and sports.  For years the tobacco industry has sponsored sporting events and advertised at recreational events, misguiding young people’s perception of tobacco use.  Research indicates that sporting events expose youth to extensive tobacco use by people they view as positive role models.⁵