Tobacco Reduction: Smoke-free Public Spaces and Parks
Categories:
- Tobacco reduction,
- Physical environment,
- Facilities & organizations,
- Healthcare facilities,
- Workplace,
- Community,
- Schools,
Smoke-free public spaces and parks
Research shows that tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable disease and death in Canada. In 2015, approximately 2,780 new cancers diagnosed in Alberta were linked to tobacco smoking.1 Tobacco smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals with at least 172 of these being toxic and 69 known to cause cancer.2 Tobacco is the only consumer product that will kill at least one in two regular users when used as it’s intended to be used.3
A new law in Medicine Hat laws prohibit smoking in outdoor public places such as recreation areas. The law was spearheaded by local high school students and restricts smoking within 10 meters of public fields, paths, playgrounds and beaches.
Ways to get started
- Communities can develop bylaws that go beyond provincial regulations. Encourage your local municipal leaders to create community-wide smoke-free outdoor public spaces. Contact other Alberta municipalities to see how they have developed their policies for smoke-free parks and other public spaces.
- Create awareness or support for a potential bylaw that would designate parks and other public spaces as smoke free.4-6
- Consider including other smoking substances, like vaping and cannabis, in the policies, regulations, or bylaw.
Amplify your impact
For further action to reduce tobacco use in the community, see
- Incentivized behaviour change for youth strategy,
- Policies and regulations strategy,
- De-normalization in schools (youth focus) strategy,
- Facilitating links and access to tobacco cessation resources and services strategy,
- Awareness and education strategy,
- Awareness and education (youth based) strate
Multi-component community-wide interventions that increase awareness about and provide opportunities to reduce tobacco use in your community will have greater impact than implementing one-off strategies.
Evaluate impact
Evaluation measures the impact of all the hard work that went into developing a community initiative. Evaluating impact examines:
- What you expect to learn or change
- What you measure and report
- How to measure impact
What you expect to learn about smoke-free public spaces and parks may include:
- Increased policies that regulate smoking in public spaces
- Reduced smoking in public spaces
External Resources
Tobacco Reduction in Alberta
Information on provincial measures that have been put in place to restrict tobacco use in Alberta.
Smoke-Free Housing Alberta
A step-by-step approach to developing and implementing a smoke-free policy with guides and resources tailored to the housing market.
Tobacco and Smoke-Free Environment Policy
A resource to assist with enforcing Alberta Health Services' tobacco and smoke-free policy, including learning videos on engaging vulnerable populations.
Municipal Smoking Bylaws
Chart of municipal smoking bylaws to support the creation of smoke-free spaces.
Steps for Municipal Politicians and Staff to Implement a Smoke-Free Outdoor Places Bylaw in BC Municipalities
A step-by-step guide for municipal politicians to implement smoke-free outdoor places bylaws.
References - Smoke free public spaces and parks
- Poirier AE, Ruan Y, Grevers X, Walter SD, Villeneuve PJ, Friedenreich CM, Brenner DR. Estimates of the current and future burden of cancer attributable to active and passive tobacco smoking in Canada. Preventive Medicine. 2019;122:9-19.
- United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). (2010). How tobacco smoke causes disease: The biology and behavioral basis for smoking-attributable disease: A report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: Author. Accessed at: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2010/
- Els, C. (2009). Tobacco addiction: What do we know, and where do we go? Accessed at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237260617_Tobacco_Addiction_What_do_we_know _and_where_do_we_go
- Health Canada. Looking Forward: The Future of Federal Tobacco Control. Government of Canada. 2011.
- Malas M, van der Tempel J, Schwartz R, Minichiello A, Lightfoot C, Noormohamed A, et al. Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation: A systematic review. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2016;18(10):1926-1936. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntw119.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC). Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. 2014.
