Engaging community leaders and youth in promoting smoke-free policies for outdoor parks

INTRODUCTION. Creating smoke-free outdoor areas, including parks and trails, is one of the most effective approaches to eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke. To protect residents in Santa Clara County (SCC) from secondhand smoke exposure, we involved community leaders and youth champions to promote adoption of smoke-free policies for outdoor parks.

METHODS. We tracked policies across all 15 cities in SCC—most receive mini-grants and/or technical assistance to pursue tobacco prevention policies. We conducted interviews with program staff/contractors and reviewed city council agendas/minutes to document policy change strategies. To examine the impact of engaging community leaders and youth in policy work on their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs, we conducted pre and post surveys.

RESULTS. Four cities prior to CPPW restricted smoking in all or some recreation areas, and an additional six through CPPW adopted 100% tobacco-free and smoke-free policies or smoking restrictions in picnic areas, skate parks, trails and other recreation areas. Funding cities, collaborative jurisdictional partnerships, strong policy champions, engagement with supporters and opponents, and the youth voice facilitated policy adoption. Baseline data indicate that: (1) Youth leaders understood risks of secondhand smoke, but did not have meaningful opportunities to improve community health prior to CPPW, and (2) Community leaders saw a need to leverage existing efforts and relationships to influence change, encourage collaboration across multiple sectors, and communicate cost benefits associated with policy change.

DISCUSSION. With CPPW, we identified promising practices, including engaging youth and community leaders, for other jurisdictions to successfully implement smoke-free outdoor parks.