MOUNT VERNON — As a way to make outdoor spaces more conducive to healthy living, Tami Ruhl of the Knox County Health Department asked city council members to consider making the city’s parks tobacco-free zones.
During a Parks and Lands Committee meeting on Monday, Ruhl spoke about the tobacco-free initiative which is sponsored by the Get Healthy Knox County Coalition. The main goal is to protect residents from second-hand smoke, which causes nearly 3,000 deaths from lung cancer and 46,000 deaths from heart disease annually in the United States.
The policy also encourages healthy behaviors among youth. Ruhl said statistics show that if an individual does not smoke before age 18, he or she most likely will never start smoking.
Other benefits of the smoke-free policy include an environment free of tobacco waste. According to the Keep America Beautiful, Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, cigarette butts are the most commonly littered item in the U.S. In addition to diminishing the beauty of the parks, cigarette butts and E-cigarette filters get swept into storm drains and ultimately end up in creeks and rivers where they leach toxins into the waterway.
Voicing his support for such a policy, Council President Bruce Hawkins questioned who would enforce the policy and how.
“I hate to have a law we can’t enforce,” he said.
Ruhl said the policy is essentially self-enforcing, but coaches and other individuals can ask a violator to leave the park. She also said the smoke-free policy could include a fine.
The signs will be purchased through the health department’s Creating Healthy Communities Grant which Ruhl coordinates. Ruhl said a smoke-free policy is already in effect at Phillips Park. Results of a public survey showed that residents favored a tobacco-free policy in city parks.
Councilwoman Nancy Vail said she would like to see smoke-free signs placed on Public Square as well as in the parks.
