Southington Officials Move To Make Areas In Parks Tobacco-Free

SOUTHINGTON – Playgrounds, playing fields, concession stands and other parts of town parks used by children may become no-smoking areas, starting in April, after the town park commission made the recommendation Monday.

In a quick special meeting Monday night, the commission approved a draft policy banning tobacco use in parts of municipal parks used most by children. The policy is similar to the “no smoking” rules at town swimming pools.

The draft will become park rules if the town attorney approves the ban, chairman Michael Fasulo said Monday.

“This is a policy, not an ordinance so we don’t require town council approval. But we will go to the town council to explain it,” he said. ” The idea is to make our recreation areas as healthy as possible.”

The policy will not ban tobacco use everywhere in town parks, an idea initially explored this fall by the commission but discarded. The biggest concern is the effect of tobacco smoke on children near an adult who is smoking.

According to a report by the Connecticut Department of Health’s tobacco use prevention and control program, “smoke from the end of a burning cigarette is unfiltered and contains twice as much tar and nicotine as the smoke that a smoker inhales through the filter. It is estimated that only 15% of cigarette smoke gets inhaled by the smoker. The remaining 85% lingers in the air for everyone to breathe.”

The report states that secondhand smoke contains more than “7,000 chemicals, 70 of which are known to cause cancer. Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death. In Connecticut, 400 nonsmokers die each year due to exposure to tobacco smoke.”

The November 2013 report listed Colchester, Columbia, East Lyme, East Haddam, Guilford, Groton, Ledyard, Montville, New London, Rocky Hill, Windham and Wallingford as having no-smoking areas in municipal recreation lands.