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Sample City Park Policy: Fayal Township, MN FAYAL TOWNSHIP PARK & RECREATION TOBACCO-FREE POLICY Each year 27,400 Minnesota youth, under the age of 18, try cigarettes for the first time. Of these, 12,000 will become daily smokers, and, if the current smoking rate continues, approximately 97,000 Minnesota children will die prematurely form a tobacco-related illness (CDC, 1996 & 2000). • Fayal Township has the opportunity to protect the health and safety of our community's children and adults while they use the city's recreation facilities. By having policies, we can ensure that coaches, parents and other role models do not use tobacco in recreational settings, sending our children the message that tobacco use is an unhealthy behavior. • Secondhand smoke is harmful in both indoor and outdoor settings. Exposure to secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States. • Children and adults using city recreational facilities should not be exposed to the deadly effects of secondhand smoke. • Cigarettes are often discarded on park grounds requiring additional maintenance expense. They diminish the beauty of the city's recreational facilities and pose an ingestion risk to toddlers. TOBACO-FREE FACILITIES No person shall use tobacco products on township-owned tennis courts, skating rinks, playgrounds and baseball fields, including their spectator areas, warming shack, and restrooms. POLICY ENFORCEMENT PLAN In order to most effectively educate the community about this policy and ensure compliance, we suggest the following enforcement plan: 1. Appropriate signs shall be posted in the above areas. 2. The community, especially facility users and staff, will be notified about this policy. 3. Persons violating this policy would be asked to refrain from using tobacco for the remainder of the event. If the person refuses to refrain, he/she would then be asked to leave the recreation facility. Adoption date: 5/20/03