Transcript Elizabeth Constandy – Tobacco Free Parks

Tobacco Free Parks:
Moving Forward with Local Authority
House Bill 2 and
current options for
local governments
Tobacco Free Parks:
Elisabeth Constandy, MS
NC Division of Public Health
Tobacco Prevention and
Control Branch
Local Authority
• Recent legislation has increased local government
authority to regulate tobacco use
– Interior of local government buildings (2008)
– Local government vehicles (2009)
– Local government grounds, and certain public places
(2010)
• House Bill 2 (S.L.2009-27), which most people know as the “Smoke
Free Restaurant and Bar Law”, has additional components
What HB2 (SL 2009-27) Means
for Local Government
• Expands local government authority to
regulate smoking
• Clear authority now exists for regulating
smoking on government owned and/or
occupied grounds, and for public
places.
• Became effective January 2, 2010.
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2009/Bills/House/PDF/H2v10.pdf
Grounds
Defined as:
• An unenclosed area owned, leased, or
occupied by local government.
• Examples may include
– Tobacco-free grounds around buildings
– Tobacco-free parks and recreation grounds
– Tobacco-free government owned outdoor
entertainment venues (amphitheaters).
Smoking vs Tobacco
Local governments have authority to regulate
ALL tobacco products, not just smoking.
Legislation addresses smoking only, due to prior
legislation that restricted local authority on
regulating smoking. (Authority was always
there for smokeless products to be regulated.)
Tobacco Free Parks:
Who may pass local
regulations?
“Any local political subdivision of this State, any airport
authority, or any authority or body created by any joint
resolution, ordinance, or rules of any such entity.”
•
•
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County Commissioners
City/Town Council
Boards of Health / Public Health Authorities **
Airport Authorities
• **One unique characteristic of the smoking law is that
it requires boards of county commissioners to adopt
an ordinance approving any smoking rule adopted by
a local board of health after July 1, 2009. Local
boards of health are not required to have this type of
approval for any other types of rules that they adopt.
Process for Passing Ordinances, Rules,
and Policies per HB2
Cities, Towns, and Villages:
• These municipal entities may pass regulations
per HB2 authority to cover government owned or
occupied buildings, vehicles and grounds as well
as public places in their own incorporated areas,
and do not need any additional approval from a
Board of County Commissioners.
Process for Passing Ordinances, Rules,
and Policies per HB2
County Government:
• Authority to pass a Board of County
Commissioners ordinance per HB2 authority that
covers government owned or occupied
buildings, vehicles and grounds as well as
public places in the unincorporated areas.
Municipalities within the County may choose to
adopt that ordinance within their boundaries.
Municipalities are not required to adopt the
ordinance, and may withdraw permitting the
ordinance at a future time.
Process for Passing Ordinances, Rules,
and Policies per HB2
Boards of Health:
• Authority to pass Rules per HB2 authority that
may cover government owned or occupied
buildings, vehicles and grounds as well as public
places in the entire county, including
municipalities. At this point, it would need to be
approved by an ordinance adopted by the Board
of County Commissioners before it could
become effective. Municipalities do not have to
agree to adopt the ordinance in order for it to be
effective for their jurisdictions.
Tobacco Free Parks:
Why do this?
Estimated Preventable Causes of Death
in North Carolina (2007)
Tobacco
13,720
Diet/Phys. Inactivity
12,583
Alcohol
2,653
Microbial Agents
2,350
Toxic Agents
1,743
Medical Error
1,516
Motor Vehicles
1,363
Firearms
910
Uninsurance
758
Sexual Behavior
606
Illicit Drug Use
531
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
Estimated Number of Deaths
Source: North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics (NC SCHS), Health Profile of North Carolinians: 2009 Update – May 2009
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
16,000
Outdoor Tobacco Smoke (OTS)
Studies are now exploring the risks of exposure to secondhand
smoke in outdoor areas.
• OTS can present a nuisance or hazard under certain
conditions, and people may receive significant exposure in
situations such as:
– Sitting with or next to an active smoker at an outdoor dining area or
on a park bench
– Standing near an active smoker outside a building
– Children accompanying a smoking parent or guardian
Kleipis, Ott and Switzer. Real-time measurement of outdoor tobacco smoke particles. J. Air & Waste Manage. Assoc. 57:522–534. 2007.
Kleipis, et al. Outdoor air pollution in close proximity to a continuous point source. Atmospheric Environment 43 (2009) 3155–3167. 2009.
Litter
Environmental organizations consistently report
cigarette butts as a leading cause of litter
• Keep America Beautiful
• Ocean Conservancy
• NC Big Sweep
Healthy Children and Families
• Children model adult behavior, and tobacco
free parks reinforce healthy lifestyle messages
• Small children playing in parks and on
recreation grounds are more likely to ingest
cigarette butts if they are discarded and
accessible
• In 2008, American Poison Control Centers
received over 7,000 reports of children under
the age of 6 being poisoned by contact with
tobacco products
Increasing Momentum…
This is a popular topic:
The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation
reports close to 500 municipalities have 100%
Smoke Free Parks, AND 100 municipalities
have 100% Smoke Free Beaches
This can be done!
Tobacco Free Parks:
Building Support
First Steps
• Identify Local Champions
• Assess Readiness
• Local Data
Identify Local Champions
• Identify Local Champions
– Who could be a Champion?
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Parks & Recreation Board
Environmental Groups
Parent Groups
Pet Owners
Your TRU Group!
• Are you already partially there?
– Past work / Tobacco Free “Zones”
Assessing Readiness
• Find out where leadership is on the issue
– Existing regulations
• Interior of government buildings?
• Logical steps to take
• If support doesn’t exist, we can help!
Local Data
• Survey Results
– Recent survey of local regulations
– Know your community!
Local Data
Municipalities listed below are reporting smoke free or tobacco free parks:
Fletcher
Locust
Belmont - ord
Cherryville - ord
Lowell
Mt Holly
Whitakers
Sharpsburg
Lenoir - ord
Boiling Springs
Wendell - ord
Marion
Hillsborough - code
Smithfield
Plymouth
Hamlet
Pink Hill
Cramerton
Canton
Oakboro
Randleman
La Grange
Boone - ord
Mt Olive
Kings Mtn
Bald Head Island
Kill Devil Hills
Asheville - ord
Swansboro
Elizabethtown
Media Advocacy
• Where do your local newspapers stand on the
topic?
– Opportunity for Editorial Board piece
– Where did they stand on HB2?
• Factoid campaigns
• LTE’s
Tobacco Free Parks:
Resources
Developing Online Toolkit
• Model Ordinances
– All government grounds (city & county versions)
– Parks and Recreation grounds (city & county versions)
– Public Places (city and county versions)
• Resolutions
– Board of Health for all areas of local authority, and
specifically for Parks & Recreation grounds only.
– Parks and Recreation Council / Committee to City Council
or Board of Commissioners
Webinars
• “Is Your Community Ready?” webinar has been
rescheduled for Jan 24, 2011
• A webinar is being planned for municipal partners, to
address local authority and options
– February, 2011
– Opportunity to convene a meeting!
• Webinar for Parks and Recreation partners
– Exploring opportunity with NCSU
Local Efforts
CDC/ASSIST Coordinators
Hi-Top ASSIST Coalition (Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Swain and
Transylvania)
Traci Clark
Phone: (828) 452-6675
[email protected]
Buncombe ASSIST Coalition
Karen Caldwell
Phone: (828) 250-5048
[email protected]
Northwest Tobacco Prevention Coalition (Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes, Caldwell, Watauga)
Teri VanDyke
Phone: (828) 264-4995
[email protected]
Guilford County ASSIST Coalition
Mary Gillett
Phone: (336) 641-6000
[email protected]
Wake County ASSIST Coalition
Ronda Sanders
Phone: (919) 212-9292
[email protected]
New Hanover/Brunswick/Pender Coalition
Erin Morrissette
Phone: (910) 798-6658
[email protected]
Craven/Pamlico/Lenoir ASSIST Coalition
Moneka Morris
Phone: (252) 636-4920 x 2019
[email protected]
Mecklenburg ASSIST Coalition
Lovemore Masakadza Phone: (704) 336-4660
[email protected]
Tobacco Free Parks:
Local efforts?
Policies vs
ordinances?
Contact Information
Elisabeth K. Constandy, MS
Director of Program Development
NC Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch
Office: 910-790-6007
Cell: 919-219-7663
Mailing address:
1932 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1932
tobaccopreventionandcontrol.ncdhhs.gov
smokefree.nc.gov