March 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 28

Research Update
some boards during the decision-making process. In some cases, the boards
indicated that previous smoking-related incidents in their parks contributed
to their policy decisions. Interestingly,
very few agencies utilized research
data (7.8 percent) as a source of information, which may suggest an overall
acknowledgment of the health risks
associated with tobacco use. Agencies interested in establishing policies
may consider collaborating with local
organizations such as health departments, municipalities, school districts
or nonprofit clubs that utilize parks. A
collaborative approach may increase
buy-in among community members
and ensure all information and issues
are considered during the planning
and writing phases. Each agency has
distinct properties and constituents;
thus, more than one informational
source is necessary for establishing an
effective policy.
Policy Enforcement
The final component of examining
outdoor smoke-free park policies in
Illinois was to gain a better understanding of policy enforcement. This
study found " no smoking " signage
was the most common enforcement
strategy. The use of signs is directly
related to another form of enforcement - citizen enforcement (the reliance on park patrons to police themselves). While citizen enforcement
was specifically identified by only a
few agencies, some others use signs to
subtly encourage patrons to self-report
incidents to the agency or encourage
patrons to approach and address the
issue with those individuals violating
the policy. Some agencies enforce
their policy by having their staff monitor designated smoke-free areas. A
study in Ontario, Canada, found most
agencies did not need to hire addition26 Parks & Recreation

al staff or allocate more resources to
implement their smoke-free park policies. The agencies incorporated staff
monitoring into work responsibilities
and collaborated with local authorities to enhance regular monitoring
of all parks within the various agency systems. Staff monitoring may be
easier to accomplish when parks are
attached to facilities with a consistent
staff presence compared to remote
parks or trails with less-frequent monitoring. Remote park venues can pose
a considerable challenge to enforce
smoke-free policies, as patrons violating the established policies are less
likely to be caught in the act. Catching
patrons in the act of smoking can be
challenging regardless of the park setting since smoking a cigarette can take
less than 10 minutes.
Future Outdoor Smoke-Free
Policy Considerations
The issue of smoking or using tobacco-related products in community parks is not likely to diminish. In
fact, the increased usage of e-cigs or
vapor cigarettes and the rise of legal
marijuana usage suggest parks and
recreation agencies will increasingly
face this issue. The El Paso, Texas,
City Council recently updated its outdoor smoking ban to address e-cigarette usage. In this situation, the El
Paso Clean Air Coalition collected
more than 1,000 endorsements from
concerned citizens and organizations
and presented this information to the
city council. In January 2015, " vaping " was banned in all city parks.
The process of developing a policy
appropriate for your agency involves
several steps. Any initial policy development should begin with the agency's mission. A key question to ask is,
" How will the creation of a smokefree park policy help us achieve our

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agency mission? " Agencies should
then gather information related to current local ordinances and state laws,
experiences from other agencies with
formal smoke-free park policies and
health-related research. This information serves two purposes: (1) informing the agency's policy development
and (2) providing supportive evidence
if the policy is challenged. The second
important consideration for policy development is the implementation and
enforcement strategy. Four guidelines
should be followed during policy development:
1. Staff involvement with monitoring
and conflict resolution
2. The role of law enforcement
3. Understanding the design and intended use of the parks
4. Understanding the different groups
of people utilizing the park space
A stronger, more effective policy
will be designed when adequate time
is devoted to this planning process.
Although communities and agencies
of all sizes are confronting the issue of
smoking and tobacco use in park venues, a standard policy or practice does
not yet exist. Agencies and boards are
encouraged to take time to collect information, gather community input
and support, and consider enforcement
in order to create an effective policy.
Detailed references for this article may be found at www.parksandrecreation.org/2016/March/
Outdoor-Smoke-Free-Policy-Development-and-Enforcement-in-Parks.

Megan Owens is a Doctoral Candidate in the
Department of Recreation, Sport and
Tourism at the University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign, and provides research and
consultation services to park and recreation
agencies through the Office of Recreation
and Park Resources (mhowens2@illinois.edu).

March 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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