by Kristina Gabalski
New signs are up in all parks and playgrounds in the Village of Brockport designating them as “Smoke-Free Zones.”
Last January, the village board passed a resolution to designate those areas as smoke-free and that designation allowed the village to obtain funding from the Smoking and Health Action Coalition of Monroe County (SHAC) covering the cost of the signs, Trustee Kent Blair, who spear-headed the project, said.
“Part of our job in government is to prepare for tomorrow by creating history today. Passing this (smoke-free) resolution allows for our younger people a place to enjoy without the presence of tobacco products,” Blair said. “We are asking everyone who visits our parks to lead by example and refrain from smoking. Teaming up with the SHAC and designating our parks as smoke free zones, I believe, only made sense.”
Cassie Coombs, a project coordinator for the SHAC /American Lung Association of the Northeast, said smoke-free policies reduce second hand smoke exposure and eliminate cigarette butts so families can enjoy outdoor activities in a healthy environment.
Every two years, the Smoking and Health Action Coalition completes a Community Tobacco survey of adult residents of Monroe County.
The surveys have found there is a very high level of support among Monroe County residents for reducing second hand smoke exposure at public outdoor locations.
At public playgrounds, 91 percent of surveyed residents support either restriction or entirely eliminating smoking, and at a public park or outdoor recreation area, 73 percent of surveyed residents support either restricting or entirely eliminating smoking.
“Public support for outdoor tobacco use restrictions is growing,” Coombs said via email. “Currently outdoor tobacco use policies have been enacted in over 280 local municipalities throughout New York State.”
The vast majority of the time, tobacco-free outdoor area policies are self- enforcing, Coombs noted. The single most important step to ensure compliance with tobacco-free outdoor areas policy is alerting all members of the community about the new policy, she said.
