On March 3, 2016 the Town of Yorktown Recreation Commission passed a resolution to ban tobacco and electronic cigarette use in town parks and recreational areas. The Alliance for Safe Kids joined POW’R Against Tobacco in educating the commission about the many benefits of such policies.
Throughout New York State, tobacco-free outdoor areas have become a growing trend over the past two years. Over 460 localities across the state have passed regulations making outdoor recreational areas smoke-free. Local governing bodies are now acknowledging the importance and mass benefit of not only preserving the environment but also reducing exposure to secondhand smoke and reducing the risk of fires.
Clean air is vital to improving the lung health and reducing the incidence of respiratory episodes that can be triggered by secondhand smoke. Many nonsmokers exposed to outdoor tobacco smoke suffer immediate symptoms including breathing difficulties, eye irritation, headache, nausea and asthma attacks. Secondhand smoke is a proven killer, causing as many as 53,000 deaths each year in the United States. Also, smoking cigarettes and using electronic cigarettes near or in a playground provides a behavioral role model for young children. Reducing the opportunities for children to observe such behavior is proven to reduce youth smoking rates.
Tobacco free policies area also effective ways to keep our parks clean. Cigarettes are the most littered item in America. Every year 4.95 trillion cigarette filters are discarded globally into our environment. Many are found on sidewalks, beaches, parks and other public places and often end up in our waterways and washed back onto beaches. Cigarette filters take many years to decompose but they are not 100 percent biodegradable. As filters break down, they leach toxic chemicals into watersheds, streams, lakes and oceans, and are hazardous and highly toxic to fish, birds, other wildlife, pets and young children if they are ingested. Outdoor smoking bans help to reduce the amount of cigarette butt litter and provide a substantial cost saving through reduced cleanup costs.
For more information about POW’R Against Tobacco and tobacco free outdoor air please visit POWRAgainstTobacco.org.