Wednesday Is Smoke-Free Playground Day
California’s playgrounds are now smoke-free thanks to new legislation that prohibits smoking and disposing of any tobacco waste product in a playground or tot sand box.
County Public Health Nurse Kathy Amos explains the new law is designed to prevent second-hand smoke exposure to children.
“It is now illegal in the state of California to smoke or discharge cigarette butts, matches and the like in or around playground areas,” Amos says.
She adds the new legislation is not so much against smokers as it for keeping playgrounds healthy and safe for children.
“Small children are known to pick up cigarette butts and put them in their mouths. It´s more or less unsanitary for small children to be around that kind of activity,” she says.
A grant to provide funding for local enforcement of tobacco control laws could become available in Tuolumne County by October of this year.
The community is invited to help celebrate the new law Wednesday, July 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at “Heaven For Kids” playground on Greenley Road in Sonora. Food, refreshments, games and entertainment will be featured in the tobacco-free zone.
