Creating Tobacco-Free Public Parks & Outdoor Recreation Areas

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Creating Tobacco-FreePublic Parks Outdoor
Recreation Areas

• Reducing Youth Prevalence by
• Limiting Exposure to Smoking
• and Access to Tobacco

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Presented by

• Jacqueline M. McNamara, J.D.
• Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation,
• Litigation Advocacy
• University of Maryland School of Law
• 500 W. Baltimore Street
• Baltimore, MD 21201
• 410-706-1129 (phone) 410-706-1128 (fax)
  tobacco_at_law.umaryland.edu

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Why regulate cigarette smoking and tobacco use in
outdoor areas?

• Health reasons
• Environmental reasons
• Policy reasons

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Health Reasons Secondhand Smoke (SHS)

• SHS exposure is dangerous, especially to
  children.
• There is no risk-free level of exposure to SHS.
• Exposure to SHS outdoors can even have negative
  health consequences
• A study published in 2007 found that SHS
  exposure in outdoor areas such as parks can rival
  SHS amounts in indoor spaces.

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Health ReasonsParks recreation areas exist
mainly for healthy activities
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Environmental reasons LITTER

• Cigarette Litter
• Cigarette butts
• Most prevalent form of litter on Earth
• Are mostly made of cellulose acetate (a form of
  plastic), not readily biodegradable
• Ingestible by wildlife and small children (also a
  health issue)
• Cost money and manpower to clean up
• Cigarette packaging
• Smokeless/Spitless Tobacco
• Spitting from smokeless tobacco (may also be
  health issue)
• Pouches from new snus products ?

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Environmental reasons PROTECTION OF PARK
RESOURCES

• National Park Service may designate a portion of
  a park area, or all or a portion of a building,
  structure or facility as closed to smoking when
  necessary to protect park resources, reduce the
  risk of fire, or prevent conflicts among visitor
  use activities. 36 C.F.R 2.21 (a)

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Policy reasons

• Philosophy behind parks and recreation areas is
  contradicted by allowing smoking and tobacco use
• Promoting healthy outdoor living and
  environmental awareness
• Promoting fitness and recreational activities
• Adult smoking in family-friendly environments
  like parks and recreation areas sends the wrong
  message to youth
• Adults as role models/smoking as non-normative
  behavior
• Remove easy access to tobacco
• initiation and sharing issues

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Case Study Anne Arundel County, Maryland
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Maryland

• Tobacco-Free Recreational Facilities
• Rule
• (a) A person may not use any form of tobacco (1)
  in a restroom, at a spectator or concession area,
  dog park, aquatic facility, or playground in any
  County park or (2) within 100 yards of an
  organized activity at a County park.
• (b) (1) Organized activity means an event that
  has a defined time for starting and ending and is
  in a designated or permitted area of a County
  park. Organized activity includes athletic
  events, concerts, and special events such as arts
  fairs. (2) Park includes recreational facility.
  (3) Tobacco to include but not be limited to
  cigarettes, cigars, snuff, pipes and spit
  tobacco.

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Maryland

• Enforcement
• (a) Recreation and Parks staff shall post
  appropriate signage (1) in restrooms,  and at
  spectator and concession areas, dog parks,
  aquatic facilities, and playgrounds and
• (2) in locations at which organized activities
  take place.
• (b) Recreation and Parks staff shall notify
  community organizations and distribute brochures
  to park users.
• (c) Recreation and Parks staff shall monitor
  compliance.
• (d) For any person who violates the tobacco-free
  rule, Recreation and Parks staff shall request
  that the person cease the use of tobacco and give
  a verbal warning.  If the person refuses to
  cease, staff authorized by the Director may
  request that the person leave the park.

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Maryland

• The Department of Recreation and Parks has a
  responsibility to protect the health and safety
  of our community's children and adults while they
  use the County's recreation facilities, and
  adopting the Tobacco-Free policy is part of this
  responsibility.
• Secondhand smoke is harmful in both indoor and
  outdoor settings.  Exposure to secondhand smoke
  is the third leading cause of preventable death
  in America.  Secondhand smoke levels in outdoor
  public places can reach levels as high as those
  found in indoor facilities where smoking is
  permitted.
• Almost 90 of adult smokers began to use tobacco
  at or before age 18.   (Source Campaign for
  Tobacco-Free Kids)
• Tobacco-Free policies are public park policies
  similar to those prohibiting alcohol use or
  littering in public parks and recreational
  facilities.

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Benefits of Anne Arundel Countys
Tobacco-Free Recreational Facilities Policy
Maryland

• Protects the health of youth and adults by
  eliminating exposure to the harmful effects of
  secondhand smoke.
• Encourages youth not to start using tobacco
  products.
• Demonstrates that adults want youth to remain
  tobacco-free and provides youth with positive
  role models.
• http//www.aacounty.org/RecParks/sports/tobaccofre
  e.cfm

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What effect can such regulations have on smoking
behavior?

• Part of comprehensive approach to tobacco control
• Denormalize smoking in family-friendly,
  fitness-oriented, recreational environments
• Reduce access to tobacco,
• thus minimize opportunities
• for smoking initiation and
• sharing tobacco among
• youth

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Tobacco-Free Public Parks Outdoor Areas

• Smoke Opponents,
• Not Cigarettes