AR 112106 Tobacco in city parks - Laserfiche WebLink

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ITEM #4 CITY OF COLTON AGENDA REPORT rUK UUUNUIL IVICC I wj%j VI' IVUyyI wtn c i, avvv TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Bill Smith — Community Services Director SUBJECT: Request Approval of Ordinance Amending Sections 12.24.010 and 12.24.065, and Adding Section 12.24.115 to the Colton Municipal Code Relating to Prohibition of the Use of Tobacco in City Parks DATE: November 1, 2006 BACKGROUND: Over 40 cities in California have passed Ordinances prohibiting smoking and/or the use of tobacco products in their city parks. Notably, the Cities of Redlands and Yucaipa have recently passed such Ordinances. The City of Colton has, over the past year, received at least two requests from residents to enact similar legislation prohibiting smoking in our city parks. After discussion of the subject at their meeting of September 20, 2006, the Colton Recreation & Parks Commission directed staff to prepare an Ordinance for recommendation to City Council, prohibiting the use of all tobacco products in city parks. This Ordinance was prepared by the City Attorney, with input from staff, and was presented to the Recreation & Parks Commission at their meeting of October 18, 2006. At this meeting, the Commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the attached Ordinance to the Colton City Council. DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: Tobacco use remains the number one preventable cause of disease and death in California, killing more than 40,000 Californians each year, or about 118 people everyday. Smoking costs California nearly $16 billion annually in medical costs. The California Air Resources Board has put secondhand smoke in the same category as the most toxic automotive and industrial air pollutants by categorizing it as a toxic air contaminant. The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists secondhand smoke as a Class A carcinogen, for which there is no safe level of exposure. Children are at special risk of lung damage and illness from inhaled smoke. Studies have shown a clear link between environmental tobacco smoke and asthma in young people. Passive smoking worsens asthma in teens and may cause up to 26,000 new cases of asthma each year. Children with allergies and nasal congestion, who are also exposed to tobacco smoke, are up to 6 times more likely than others to have persistent middle ear infections. Our parks are a significant gathering area for our children, and countless psychological studies suggest that children imitate what they see. This information, combined with the statistics above, indicates that smoking in our city parks presents a health hazard to our youth, both through health effects of secondhand smoke, and through increasing the likelihood that they will become smokers.