Smoke Free Parks

No tobacco in parks is wish of LR panel

It OKs policy to dissuade, not ban products

 

By Kristin Netterstrom

Little Rock Parks and Recreation commissioners hope to have signs up at city parks in coming months that ask people not to smoke or use tobacco.

The commission on Thursday adopted a policy, for the second time this year, that aims to keep tobacco products out of Little Rock parks. The group wants to reduce secondhand smoke and promote healthier lifestyles.

The policy won't ban smoking or the use of tobacco products in parks.

"It becomes just a simple request, no smoking in the park," said Gwendolyn Hodge, a parks commissioner who led a subcommittee that studied the policy.

City Manager Bruce Moore now has the final say on whether the city adopts the policy. He said in an e-mail that he would try to review it within the next 30 days.

Chairman Bill Cobb said the commission voted on the policy for a second time after some confusion over its first attempt. A different version of the approved policy came back from the city manager's office, he said, but was never acted on.

"We went back to the drawing board," Cobb said, giving city officials a clearer picture of what the commission wants to accomplish.

"Citizens I heard from were not in favor of smoke-free and tobacco-free parks," Commissioner Robby Vogel said. The commission held several public hearings last year about the potential of a smoking ban in parks.

Vogel and commissioner Bill Rahn voted against the policy Thursday.

There was some confusion during the commission's meeting on what the policy included - some commissioners initially passed the policy thinking it didn't include smoke-free tobacco products even though several were included in the language.

The draft was titled "Smoke Free Parks Policy."
Hodge recalled the vote. After more discussion, a second vote renamed and passed the tobacco-free and smoke-free policy.

Katherine Donald, executive director of Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas, told commissioners they were "on the right track," and she favored a tobacco-free policy rather than one that addresses only smoking.

Parks are defined in the policy as any property owned, leased or operated by the city that is designated by the city as parkland and is listed in the city's park inventory.

Smoking is defined as inhaling, exhaling, burning or carrying a lighted tobacco product. It also states that city personnel can ask a person to stop smoking or using a tobacco product, and to leave the park if the person doesn't comply.
"At least it's a bluff," said commissioner J.J. Lacey, since there's no penalty for not complying.

Commissioners, who realize that people may not comply with the policy, want to go a step farther and plan to ask the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would ban tobacco use in all city parks.