Breathe California  of the Bay Area advocates for smoke free parks in order to reduce the impact of tobacco use and addiction in our communities. In recent years, more than a dozen localities in California have enacted smoking bans in public parks to protect families and children from the dangerous health effects of secondhand smoke. Exposure to secondhand smoke may be responsible for the onset of 8,000 to 26,000 new cases of asthma each year as well as up to 1.6 million doctor visits for middle ear infections. Locally, our campaigns for smoke free parks have been already begun in San Jose, and most recently Milpitas, who enacted such a ban.

As part of these campaigns, Breathe California of the Bay Area:

• Organizes a coalition of community groups and residents interested in making parks smoke free
• Approaches local city council members to address and consider these bans
• Works with city staff to craft potential policies
• Provides authoritative information to council members during public meetings