News and Events
Creating Tobacco-Free Environments is Good for Kids!
Tracy DeCubellis, MS
September 3 , 2015
Have you ever been enjoying an outdoor event only to have cigarette smoke or e-cigarette vapor blown into your face?
Even distant smoke can make its way into your vicinity, causing irritation or even causing negative health effects according to the U.S. Surgeon General.
How do you feel about stepping in tobacco spit, or seeing a bottle full of tobacco spit used by someone who is dipping?
By now, it is common knowledge that all tobacco use is bad for your health and that secondhand smoke can hurt you. But did you know the U.S. Surgeon General has stated that when adults use tobacco around kids in public places, it can actually make them more likely to try tobacco products?
When adults use tobacco products in public around kids, children notice and it influences them. In fact, the U.S. Surgeon General recommends that parents work with other parents in the community to limit the amount of tobacco use their children see around them.
To make tobacco-free lifestyle choices, some kids need to hear the expectation from adults that they will not use tobacco. That can start by creating and enforcing tobacco-free policies in places where kids are involved.
There is good news for Gilchrist County families who want to provide a fun, tobacco-free experience for their children this month! The Loomis Brothers Circus is being sponsored by the Gilchrist County Character Council. This will be a tobacco-free event to support families and children seeking to have a good time in a tobacco-free environment.
The Tobacco Free Partnership of Gilchrist County applauds the Gilchrist County Character Council for this decision. The Tobacco Free Partnership plans to partner with the Character Council by providing signs to let people know about the tobacco-free policy at the event location.
Taking steps like this to reduce youth tobacco use exposure are important in reducing overall youth use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.
Fore more information on the work of the Tobacco Free Partnership, contact Facilitator Tracy DeCubellis at TracyD@QuitDoc.com.
