BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — When Bradford County has a new attorney on board, one of the first tasks will be drafting a smoking ban for county parks.
County commissioners gave the direction last month following a presentation from Bradford High School’s chapter of Students Working Against Tobacco.
Mario Small and Brooklyn Reddish, president and vice president of the group, encouraged the board to restrict smoking in public parks.
“Every person in Bradford County should be able to enjoy the great outdoors without exposure to toxic smoke vapor and the litter these products leave,” Reddish said.
Smoking is prohibited in state parks, and Reddish said legislation allows cities and counties to enact similar bans.
Small said there is no such thing as safe exposure to secondhand smoke, yet nearly 56% of young people in Bradford County report being exposed to cigarettes and vaping products and the cancer-causing substances they contain.
Cigarettes are also a common form of litter.
“Not only do tobacco products devastate the human body, they cause havoc on the environment, ending up in our waterways, along beaches and in our parks,” Reddish said. This adds up to 145,000 tons of cigarette butts accumulating annually in public places and waterways. Only 10% of cigarette butts are properly disposed of in ash receptacles, she said.
Signage alone isn’t enough, as SWAT’s cleanups of local parks continues to prove, Reddish added.
Small said passage of a smoking and vaping ban in county parks would have a positive impact on the community.
SWAT’s overall mission is to discourage other young people from experimenting with something that could become a deadly habit, damaging their quality of life and sending them to an early grave.
“30.5% of Bradford County youth reported that they have tried cigarettes, vaping products, smokeless tobacco, cigars or hookah, and 16.4% reported that they are currently using one of these products,” Small said. “Both are above the state average. We know this issue requires unwavering attention, and this is just one step in making a difference.”
“It is our hope that through collaboration on policy, implementation, education and awareness, we can continue to improve our community and its public parks, not only for local youth, but for every resident,” Reddish said.
They also thanked the commission for its continued support of SWAT. Commissioners thanked SWAT in return for its efforts.
