Evaluation of a state and community initiative to increase tobacco-free recreation policies in Maine

The Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine (PTM) is a comprehensive tobacco prevention and control program. One of many initiatives PTM uses to prevent youth tobacco use is community tobacco-free recreation policies. PTM collaborates with Maine's local public health infrastructure, the Healthy Maine Partnerships (HMPs) to promote tobacco-free recreation policies in municipalities and communities and give them tools for developing policies that promote tobacco-free environments. PTM provides signage after a policy is reviewed, meets PTM criteria, and is adopted. Data sources used to evaluate the Tobacco-Free Recreation Policy Initiative include: 1) PTM database of accepted policies; 2) HMP process evaluation (KIT – a web-based management information system,) Strategies Logs, and Settings Workbooks; and 3) HMP Evaluation Municipalities Environmental Indicators Survey. Results show that: 1) HMPs have worked with 398 community agencies to encourage municipalities to develop tobacco-free community recreation policies. This has resulted in 45 municipalities with new tobacco-free community recreation policies. 2) 80 tobacco-free community policies have been submitted to and meet PTMs criteria. 3) 58% of municipalities reported owning or operating recreation fields or parks open to the public in 2011 (n=490), the same as in previous years (2004 (n=480) and 2007 (n=477). Among municipalities with town owned or operated recreation fields or parks, there has been a steady increase in the percentage of municipalities reporting tobacco-free policies on these fields or parks from 20% in 2004 to 34% in 2007 and 47% in 2011.