Stop smoking in our parks
Bonnie Riely, Minot
It's wonderful to finally have some summer weather and take my grandchildren to the parks. Recently my daughter and I took them to the new splash park at Oak Park. It was crowded with lots of children having a good safe and healthy time. While we were sitting there enjoying this, a gentleman decided it was a great place to light up a cigarette and spread the nicotine toxins to vulnerable children. Because we do not have a city ordinance restricting smoking in our parks there is not much a person can do. I had my grandson move away from the gentlemen so as not to inhale the toxins.
It's a known fact that secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals including formaldehyde, ammonia, lead and arsenic.
Don't get me wrong, I do not have a problem with smokers. I myself used to smoke. However, secondhand smoke is a cancer-causing agent. Smoking outdoors does not eliminate the effects of secondhand smoke such as cancer. If you can smell secondhand smoke you are inhaling it.
And what is it with people thinking cigarette butts thrown on the ground are not litter? I would encourage the City of Minot to step up and adopt a tobacco-free parks policy. This would not only reduce the exposure to secondhand smoke, it would also be setting an example for our children. This could also eliminate the unsightly cigarette butts at our beautiful parks.
Facebook
MySpace
Digg
Stumble
Mixx
Fark
del.icio.us
LiveSpaces
|
WarToad
|
|
|---|---|
|
07-14-09 8:58 AM
|
Maybe not specific smoking areas in the parks, but specific non-smoking areas. Like not within 100ft of the playground or covered eating areas. I'd be fine with that.
|
|
OldDog
|
|
|
07-13-09 11:48 PM
|
How about them school buses? And we load our kids on them daily!!
|
|
savingsymmetry
|
|
|
07-13-09 1:23 PM
|
I hate to say this, but I actually agree with Tarkin. I wish he had a more eloquent way of voicing his opinion, though I can still make sense of it enough to realize that he does make a decent point. There are thousands of carcinogens that you encounter every single day. There are thousands that your kids/grandchildren encounter every single day. I understand wanting to keep our children safe, and I don't see a problem in restricting smoking to certain areas in public parks. When did parks become something only to be enjoyed by children? I was completely shocked when we moved here and I realized that I couldn't take my dogs for a walk through the park. Absolutely absurd! But, back to smoking. Disneyland does it, most theme parks do it, I don't see a problem with public parks doing it. Designate areas for smokers that awe away from the playground area, but don't put a complete ban on it so that you can feel better about getting rid of one of the thousand carcinogens.
|
|
tarkin
|
|
|
07-13-09 1:02 AM
|
Have you seen the toxic pollutants coming out of the tail pipe of the cars driving into oak park worst of all you cannot even smell carbon dioxide known to kill people all the time, a much more serious condition than that of a cigarette lets really make a dent in the primary causes of air pollution and not allow any motor vehicles in the park we should be able to go outside walk or sit in a public place without the fear of polluting our lungs. Any air pollution meter will easily show the effects of one vehicle driving through our parks a cigarrette not so much but it all ads up I guess. Anyone really concerned about their or anyones health wouldnt have a problem walking into the parks from a parking lot a few hundred yards away or bording an electric car or something from the parking lot.
|