Secondhand Smoke

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified secondhand smoke as a Class A Carcinogen placing it in the same category as radon, benzene, and asbestos. ₍₁₎
• Secondhand smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals including over 50 cancer causing
  agents.₍₂₎
• Infants and children exposed to second hand smoke are at an increased risk of
  reduced lung function including asthma, are more likely to have symptoms of 
  respiratory irritation, acute respiratory infections and ear problems, and sudden 
  infant death syndrome (SIDS). ₍₁₎
• The Surgeon General has declared that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke. (2)
• Researchers at Stanford University discovered that being within a few feet of a smoker outdoors may expose you to air pollution levels that are comparable to indoor levels. (3)

Litter

• Cigarettes are the most littered item in America and the world. It is estimated that several trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide every year. They are not biodegradable and can take up to 15 years to break down. (4)
• Small children and pets are at risk of swallowing, choking, or burning themselves with cigarette butts. In 2004, American Poison Control Centers received nearly 8,000 reports of children poisoned by the ingestion of cigarette butts. (1)
• Clean up of tobacco litter from recreational areas is costly to taxpayers. (5)

Modeling

• Children need positive role models in the community; smoking in a family friendly place sends the wrong message to our kids. Kids will see smoking as acceptable and normal. (1)
• 90% of adult smokers are addicted to tobacco before they reach the age of 18. (6)
  
   

Young Lungs at Play & The NEW Smoke - Free Playground Legislation

A statewide initiative to eliminate children’s exposure to secondhand smoke at public parks and playgrounds. In New York State thus far, 279 Counties, Towns, Cities, and Villages have already adopted 100% Smoke/Tobacco Free Parks policies, moreover in these municipalities, 84 Smoke/Tobacco Free Playground policies have been enacted.

Tobacco Free Broome and Tioga can assist municipalities and parks directors to:

   - Develop a local law, ordinance, policy or resolution that prohibits all forms of tobacco use in parks and playgrounds or specific areas within the town or village;

   - Develop an enforcement plan that includes signage; and/or

   - Develop a plan to notify and educate park and playground staff as well as the general public.

 

To learn more about the Young Lungs at Play project, visit "Young Lungs at Play: Preventing Children’s Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in Outdoor Play Areas in a Steps to a HealthierNY County", _{Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice and Policy, October 2007.}

Broome and Tioga have a long list of supporters that have made a commitment to keep their outdoor areas tobacco-free.

More and more outdoor areas are becoming tobacco-free. This growing trend has affected parks and playgrounds at both the local and state level, as well as businesses, agencies, and college campuses, just to name a few! To learn more about making your outdoor spaces tobacco-free, take a look at this toolkit: [ The NY Tobacco-Free Outdoor Areas Toolkit ]

 

Tobacco Free/Smoke Free Outdoors Areas

Smoke Free Entryway Policies

Lincoln Court Apartments	Lisle Free Library

Tobacco Free Parks, Playgrounds and Athletics Area Policy

All parks in City of Binghamton are tobacco free.	All playgrounds, athletic and spectator ares in Broome County are tobacco free.	Town of Conklin  All parks in Town of Conklin are tobacco free.	Town of Maine All parks in Town of Maine are tobacco free.
Town of Union  All parks, playgrounds, concession, pool, athletic, spectator and carousel areas in Town of Union are tobacco free.	Village of Johnson City All parks in Village of Johnson City are tobacco free.	Village of Nichols All parks in the Village of Nichols are tobacco free.	Town of Tioga All playgrounds and athletic fields in the Town of Tioga are tobacco free.

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1- Capital District Tobacco-Free Coalition. (2011). Tobacco-free outdoor areas. Retrieved from http://www.smokefreecapital.org/TFree_NY/t-free-outdoors.cfm

2- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006.

3- Shwartz, M. (2007, May). Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke in outdoor settings a risk, study shows. Retrieved from http://news.stanford.edu/news/2007/may9/smoking-050907.html

4- Allentown Recycles. (2002). Litter facts. Retrieved from http://www.allentownrecycles.org/dont_trash/facts.jsp

5- Erie Niagara Tobacco Free Coalition, . (n.d.). Smoke free parks and playgrounds. Retrieved from http://www.tobaccofreewny.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Parks-Proposal.pdf

6- New York State Department of Health Advertising, Sponsorship and Promotion Toolkit