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Playing Tobacco Free: <br />Tobacco-Free Policies For Outdoor Recreation Facilities <br /> <br />Tobacco-free outdoor recreation <br /> facilities make sense <br /> <br />· Secondhandsmoke harms eve/~yone andkills thousands <br /> everyyear. Exposure to secondhand smoke is the third <br /> leading cause of preventable death in the United States, <br /> killing approximately 53,000 people every year. <br />· Secondhand smoke is harmful in outdoor settings. <br /> According to Repace Associates, secondhand smoke <br /> levels in outdoor public places can reach levels as high <br /> as those found in indoor facilities where smoking is <br /> permitted. <br />· Tobacco-freepolicies help change community norms. <br /> Tobacco-free policies establish the community norm <br /> that tobacco use is not an acceptable behavior for young <br /> people or adults within the entire community. <br />· Most Minnesotaparents support tobacco-freepolicies <br /> for outdoorptaygrounds. A 1998 survey showed that <br /> 68% of Minnesota parents support smoking bans in <br /> outdoor playgrounds and 80% support a ban in all public <br /> places where children are present. <br /> <br />Why are tobacco-free policies for outdoor <br />recreation facilities so important? <br /> <br />· City-wide policies support groups that have existing <br /> policies when they are using city recreation facilities. <br />· Since most schooldistricts prohibit tobacco use <br /> in all their facilities, city-wide policies create <br /> consistency for all youth recreational facilities in <br /> the community. <br />· Cigarette butts cause litter, increase maintenance <br /> expenses, and pose the risk of ingestion by toddlers <br /> using recreation facilities. <br />· Creating tobacco-free environments protects the health, <br /> safety, and welfare of the community. <br /> <br /> Why a re tobacco-free policies effective? <br />·Policies reinforce to youth the message that tobacco <br /> use is unhealthy and unnecessary behavior. <br />· Policies ensure that participants and spectators <br /> are not exposed to secondhand smoke. <br />· Policies create an environment where leaders can <br /> model and promote healthy lifestyle choices. <br /> <br />iilifestyles for young people who are involved in their programs. <br /> TFYR offers assistance in tobacco-free policy development & <br /> implementation and also develops materials that promote the <br /> tobacco-free sports message throughout Minnesota. <br /> <br /> The Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation Initiative <br />Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation (TFYR) is Minnesota's stat·wide <br />recreation-based tobacco prevention program that assists recre- <br />ational groups in modeling and promoting healthy tobacco-free <br /> <br /> Policy adoption assistance <br /> & FREE signs available through TFYR <br />TFYR offers city park & recreation departments technical <br />assistance in tobacco-free policy development. To help with <br />policy implementation, TFYR provides 12" x 18" metal blue & <br />white tobacco-free signs for FREE to Minnesota cities that <br />adopt comprehensive tobacco-flee policies for their outdoor <br />recreational facilities. <br /> <br />To qualify for the signs, the tobacco-flee policy <br />must include: <br />· A list of all the facilities it covers. <br />· A statement that all forms of tobacco use <br />are prohibited. <br />· An enforcement plan that includes a) user <br />and staffnotification; and b) signage. Tobacco-Free Signs <br /> <br />Contact TFYR staff(see below) for policy adoption assistance. <br />Once a policy has been passed in your community, send a copy <br />of the policy and a completed sign order form to TFYR. Down- <br />load an order form from our web site at <www. ansrnm.org>. <br /> <br />Minnesota Cities with Tobacco-Free <br /> <br /> Outdoor Recreational Facilities <br /> <br /> · Aitkin · Eden Prairie · Nwd Yng America <br /> · Aurora · Eveleth · Owatonna <br /> · Austin · Faribault · Plymouth <br /> · Baxter · Golden Valley · Richfield <br /> · Biwabik · Grand Rapids · Rochester <br /> · Bloomington · Hibbing · Roseville <br /> · Brainerd · Hoyt Lakes · Sartell <br /> · Breckenridge · Kent · Savage <br /> · Buhl · Mahtomedi · Spicer <br /> · Cohasset · Maple Grove · St. Cloud <br /> · Coon Rapids · Morris · St. Paul <br /> · Duluth · Mountain Iron · Virginia <br /> · Eagan · New Brighton · Willmar <br /> · Zimmerm~n <br />~ for Nonsmokers--Minnesota <br /> 2395 University Ave. West, # 310 <br /> St. Paul, MN 55114-:[512 <br /> r 646-3005; ffyr@ansrmn.org <br /> <br /> <br />