Northumberland's playgrounds move closer to becoming smoke-free

There will soon come a day when all of Northumberland's children can enjoy public playgrounds without their parents first picking out cigarette butts from the sand. Parents with young children must be applauding the new Trent Hills smoking prohibition, which beginning Sept. 1, bans smokers from lighting up within nine metres of any public skate park, playground, beach, wading pool or splash pad in the municipality.

That same ban will be extended to sports fields in May 2013, and municipal parks in May 2014, with the exception of specifically marked areas. Such a move is the right way to go for the future health and cleanliness of Northumberland. Anyone who doesn't smoke can attest to the unpleasantness of cigarette smoke wafting towards them, not to mention the many dangers of secondhand smoke. Imagine, sitting on the baseball bleachers or soccer sidelines only to be smoked out by someone nearby. Too often, playground sand areas are littered with cigarette butts. It's unfair to expect parents to pick up the dirty butts dropped by adults and teenagers in total disregard of the health and safety of toddlers and children who such parks are built for.

 There's also an influence factor. The less children are exposed to smoking and cigarettes, the less likely it is to appear normal to them and the less likely they'll pick up the habit -- at least that's the reasoning behind hiding tobacco displays in convenience stores, a move implemented more than four years ago. And Trent Hills isn't the only Northumberland municipality in this smoke-free mind set. Cobourg and Port Hope also have bylaws restricting smokers from lighting up near public playgrounds and parks. Trent Hills residents, like those throughout Northumberland County, have overwhelmingly expressed support for tobacco-free public outdoor spaces, according to a public opinion survey conducted by the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit in 2009.

Ninety-six per cent of the respondents supported banning smoking near children's playgrounds; 89 per cent were in favour of no smoking near sports fields, soccer pitches and baseball diamonds used by youth. Hopefully, Brighton will get on the bandwagon too, although for now, the only smoking bylaw it has in effect, beyond those provincially mandated, prohibits smoking within nine metres of any municipal building door, such as the arena. Brighton's manager of planning, Ken Hurford, said Brighton is not currently researching anything else.