Breathe California & San Jose Councilmembers Introduce Proposal to Make All City Parks Smoke-Free
Youth coalition also releases “Tobacco Report Card” at World Tobacco-Free Day event
San Jose, Calif. – In honor of World Tobacco Free Day, local health advocates and elected officials gathered at city hall this morning, where they highlighted the need for greater tobacco control efforts and introduced a new policy to make all of San Jose’s parks smoke-free.
“Although smoking rates continue to decline, we learn more everyday about the dangers posed by tobacco, including secondhand smoke,” said Margo Sidener, President & CEO of Breathe California, which co-hosted the event. “We are proud to be working with San Jose’s leaders to promote a smoke-free parks policy and restore the city’s leadership in tobacco control.”
The policy was first proposed by Breathe California and the San Jose Tobacco-Free Collaborative close to 3 years ago and would prohibit smoking at all of San Jose’s city parks. San Jose Vice-Mayor Dave Cortese and City Councilmember Madison Nguyen, who are sponsoring the proposal, are introducing the smoke-free parks proposal to the Rules Committee with a recommendation that city staff prepare a draft ordinance for the city council’s consideration. Currently, a handful of cities and counties in California have adopted similar policies for their public parks, including San Francisco and the County of San Mateo, but San Jose would be the first to do so in Santa Clara County.
“Any child will tell you that smoking should not be allowed in parks” said Vice-Mayor Cortese, who along with Councilmember Nguyen spoke at the event. "Allowing smoking in parks endangers children and other park users by exposing them to secondhand smoke, which is harmful to all."
“We should all be able to go to our city parks without having to be worried about being exposed to tobacco smoke” added Councilmember Nguyen. "This policy will ensure that our city’s parks remain clean, healthy and family-friendly environments that all residents can enjoy.”
At the event, the Coalition Against Teen Tobacco (CATT) - a local group of youth health advocates who co-hosted the press conference - also released its “Tobacco Report Card.” The report card graded every city in Santa Clara County for its dedication to developing and enforcing policies that regulate the sale, advertising and use of tobacco products. The cities of Gilroy and Mountain View were recognized for their exemplary tobacco control efforts, which included working with CATT to conduct undercover youth tobacco sting operations and to provide tobacco control awareness training for law enforcement officials and tobacco retailers. Yet, with a majority of cities receiving a C grade, the group emphasized the importance of stepping up efforts to combat youth tobacco use and addiction.
"Our Report Card reflects the need for local cities to not only adopt greater tobacco regulations, but to also improve their compliance with existing ordinances,” said Arianna Trujillo-Robnett, a Mount Pleasant High School student and Chair of the Coalition Against Teen Tobacco. “Mountain View, Gilroy, and now San Jose with their new smoke-free parks proposal, should be commended for taking steps to protect youth from the dangers of tobacco. We hope their example will encourage other cities to beef up their efforts to combat blight from tobacco advertising, offer greater protections from secondhand smoke and prevent tobacco retailers from selling to youth."
Although smoking rates continue to decline, tobacco use remains the #1 preventable cause of death in the county. Smoking among youth is a particular concern, as they can become addicted to tobacco much more quickly than adults and since a large majority of adult smokers pick up the habit before turning 18. In addition, a growing body of scientific evidence shows how dangerous secondhand smoke can be. According to the Surgeon General, there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, which can increase the risk of heart disease and lung cancer in non-smokers by 25 to 30 percent.
This World-Tobacco Free Day event was hosted by Breathe California of the Bay Area, the San Jose Tobacco-Free Collaborative and the Coalition against Teen Tobacco (CATT). Since 1911, Breathe California of the Bay Area has been dedicated to fighting lung disease in all its forms and working with its communities to protect lung health. The agency also chairs the San Jose Tobacco Free Collaborative, a coalition of community agencies working to reduce the impact of tobacco use and addiction in the city. CATT, a county health youth-development advocacy group founded by the Santa Clara County Tobacco Control Coalition in 1997, implements health education projects and advocates for local policy change in their community.
Click here to see Vice-Mayor Cortese's and Councilmember Nguyen's smoke-free parks policy memo.
Click here to see the Coalition Against Teen Tobacco's "Tobacco Report Card"
Contact: Dave Low
May 31, 2007
(408) 998-5865 office
(408) 499-8328 - cell