Smoking Banned in Over 40 Miami-Dade County Parks

Policy aims to ensure that athletes are not exposed to secondhand smoke

Miami-Dade County's parks and recreation department is enforcing a new policy which bans tobacco use in community parks where children play, and all playgrounds in county parks.

“The new policy ensures a healthy environment for people participating in sports and other recreational activities within a park setting where they are not exposed to toxic secondhand smoke,” the county said in a news release.

According to The Miami Herald, the new tobacco-free policy helps enforce a practice already in place in youth leagues, prohibiting smoking around playing fields so young athletes can perform in a healthy environment.

“In addition to reducing secondhand smoke exposure, tobacco-free policies encourage young people to make healthy choices,” said Jack Kardys, director of Miami-Dade Parks. “The more tobacco-free environments a community provides, the fewer opportunities for youth to start using tobacco.”

The Herald reported the following Miami-Dade parks are tobacco-free zones: African Heritage, Arcola, Arcola Lakes, Bird Lakes, Cinco de Mayo, Colonial Drive, Continental, Country Village, Deerwood, Devon Aire, Eureka, Eureka Villas, Goulds, Gwen Cherry (YET), Hammocks, Highland Oaks, Jefferson Reaves, Kendale Lakes, Leisure Lakes, Little River, Martin Luther King, McMillian, Miller's Pond, Modello, Naranja, Norman & Jean Reach, North Glade, North Trail, Oak Grove, Ojus, Olinda, Ron Ehmann, Ruben Dario, Sgt. Delancy, Soar, South Dade, Southridge, Tropical Estates, West Little River, West Perrine, Westwind Lakes and Wildlime.

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