Getting smokeless tobacco out of parks west virginia 2012 emily anderson
1. Getting Smokeless Tobacco
Out of Parks:
Tobacco-Free Policies for Park Systems
Emily M. Anderson, MA
Program Director
Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation
Association for Nonsmokers – Minnesota
West Virginia Conference on Smokeless and Spit Tobacco
2. Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation, a program of the
Association for Nonsmokers-MN, is funded by a
Tobacco-Free Communities Grant from the
Minnesota Department of Health’s Alcohol &
Tobacco and Prevention and Control Unit.
3. Presentation Goals
• What is TFYR?
• Why do we focus on ALL tobacco use (smoking
and smokeless)?
• How and why do we work on tobacco-free
sports?
• How and why do we work on creating tobacco-
free parks?
• What are our lessons learned?
4. What is TFYR?
• Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation (TFYR) is statewide initiative of
the Association for Nonsmokers-Minnesota (ANSR).
• TFYR's mission is to assist recreational organizations and local
park systems in their efforts to create a tobacco-free
environment where they can promote and model tobacco-free
lifestyles.
• This is accomplished by helping these recreational organizations
partner with community groups to implement a recreation-
based prevention strategy.
• TFYR’s goals are to create as many tobacco-free parks and
recreation areas as we can and promote tobacco-free sports and
recreation.
5. “Tobacco Free” vs. “Smoke Free”
• The Centers for Disease Control recommends tobacco-free
policies as a comprehensive youth tobacco prevention tool
• TFYR believes tobacco-free outdoor policies play an
important role in this strategy
• Smoke-free policies do not fully achieve the goals outlined
by CDC or help prevent the rise in smokeless tobacco use
• Smoke-free policies may encourage the use of OTPs,
playing into the hand of the tobacco marketing strategies
6. Smokeless Use:
Nationally
Percentage of Adults Who Were Current Smokeless
Tobacco Users in 2009
• 3.5% of all adults (aged 18 years and older)
• 7.0% of men
Percentage of High School Students who were Current
Smokeless Tobacco Users in 2009
• 6.1% of all high school students
• 11.0% of males
Source: CDC
7. Smokeless Use:
West Virginia
• Among adult males, West Virginia reports the highest
percentage of spit tobacco use: 17.6%
• 16.7% of current smokers in West Virginia report using
smokeless tobacco
• West Virginia high schools males use smokeless
tobacco at a rate of 24.8%
Sources: 2008 WV Behavioral Rick Factor Surveillance System
2009 WV Youth Tobacco Survey
8. Why Is Smokeless Use Increasing?
• Increased smoking restriction in schools
and public places, including bars and
restaurants
• Positive image of spit tobacco use in
advertising campaigns
• Introduction of new flavored smokeless
products like chocolate and tropical.
• The suggestion that spit tobacco
improves overall athletic performance
• Marketing of smokeless tobacco
products to youth and youth athletic Trinkets & Trash Website
events Ramsey Tobacco Coalition (MN), 2011
9. Marketing Smokeless
• The five largest tobacco manufacturers have spent
record amounts of money on smokeless tobacco
advertising and promotions:
• $547.9 million in 2008
• The two leading smokeless tobacco brands for
users aged 12 years or older are—
• Skoal® (with 25% of the market share) and
• Copenhagen® (with 24% of the market share)
Source: CDC
11. Marketing of Sports, Recreation
…& Tobacco
Sports Illustrated: November 2009 Sporting News: December 2010
12. Marketing of Sports, Recreation
…& Tobacco
Direct Mail
2009
Sports Illustrated: November 2009
13. National Smokeless Tobacco
Cessation Efforts
• Through with Chew
• Wyoming Tobacco-Free Community Program
• www.throughwithchew.com
• My Last Dip
• Oregon Research Institute
• www.mylastdip.com
14. TFYR’s Smokeless
Prevention Efforts
Tobacco-Free
Sports
Tobacco-Free
Parks
15. Why Tobacco-Free Sports?
• Counter the tobacco industry’s targeting of sporting
events
• Connect with youth and parents involved in recreational
programs
• Recreational organizations are role models to youth and
influential in the community
• Change community norms
• Raise awareness about the harms of tobacco use
25. Lessons Learned: Sports Promotions
• Find athletes that are comfortable with public speaking
• Athletes can be traded with little notice. Investigate
these possibilities before selecting an athlete, especially
for print materials
• Reduce print materials production costs by utilizing
stock photos kept by the team
• Be sure the athletes do not use ANY tobacco products
• Be sure that the athletes have good reputations, and
are good citizens and role models
26. Why Tobacco-Free Parks?
• Help change social norms about tobacco use
• Exposure to secondhand smoke is harmful
• Promote positive role modeling
• Involve youth and community members in advocacy
• Reduce harmful tobacco litter
• Parks are healthy places that belong to the residents of
a community
27. Tobacco-Free Policies in Minnesota
• Most MN cities have policies recommended by
community park boards and voted by city councils.
• These policies become part of the rules of the park system
and are enforced by signs and community awareness
• A few MN cities have adopted ordinances
• Usually come with fines attached
• Policies cover city or county-owned outdoor park and
recreational areas:
• Parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, beaches, etc.
• Some MN policies cover only youth events
• Trend is toward “all property” policies for city and county-
owned park areas
32. Youth Advocacy Model
• Playing Tobacco Free: Making
Your Community Parks,
Playgrounds, and Athletic
Field Tobacco Free
• A comprehensive youth
guide on how to advocate for
policy change on the local
level
• Created in 2006 after dozens
of successful policy initiatives
33. Why Youth Advocates?
• Hands-on project that usually gets positive
results
• Youth are natural advocates since they are the
regular park users
• Gain experience in local government and public
speaking
• Opportunity to gain volunteer hours/improve
college applications
• Help make the community healthier!
34. Five Steps for Success!
1. Assess your community
2. Create your policy request
3. Build support for your policy
4. Plan your presentation
5. Thank & Promote!
38. Orono School District
Advocacy Approach
• Group from Orono High School (district comprised
of 8 cities)
• Started in 2010 with the city of Orono
• Orono passed a comprehensive tobacco-free parks
ordinance
• Students wanted to keep working on other cities in
their school district
• Over the next two years: 6 successful policy drives!
41. Lessons Learned: Big Picture
• Justifying outdoor policy work can be difficult, and it
fluctuates depending on the community
• State level funding and support is needed
• More research is needed on the health effects of
secondhand smoke outdoors
• A comprehensive community “buy-in” is key
• Globally, communities are working on these policies, which
supports the growing trend
42. Lessons Learned: Details, Details…
• Community organizing is hard work!
• Community coalition members are essential
• Community politics play an important role
• Find a champion inside City Hall
• Know how the policy makers will vote
• Entire process can take from 3 to 12 months
• Policies do not always pass easily, but you can make a
difference through tobacco-free parks
43. Resources
• Tobacco-Free Parks: A Decade of Progress
• Components of a Successful Tobacco-Free Parks
Policy
• A Guide for Creating Tobacco-Free Rodeos
• A Guide for Creating Tobacco-Free Fairgrounds
• University of MN Tobacco-Free Parks and Recreation
Study
• Tobacco-Free Parks and Recreation Brochure
• Minnesota Lynx Poster samples
44. Contact Us!
Emily M. Anderson, Program Director
emily@ansrmn.org
Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation
2395 University Avenue West, Suite #310
Saint Paul, MN 55114
651-646-3005
TobaccoFreeParks.org
