Smoke-free cities, schools get Orange health awards

During National Public Health Week, Orange County health officials today recognized city leaders and public institutions that have committed to making their public spaces smoke-free.

"One goal of public health is to protect the health of children and others by making public spaces where they play and work clean and smoke free," said Dain Weister, health department spokesman.
At Lake Eola Park in Orlando, health department officials acknowledged nine out of 10 Orange County municipalities that have passed resolutions this year to curb smoking in public parks. Nearby, children twirled, swung and climbed on playground equipment within a few yards of new signs that read: "Children Play Here, thank you for not smoking."

The cities and towns in Orange County that adopted smoke-free resolutions for their parks this year were Windermere, Orlando, Eatonville, Ocoee, Apopka, Oakland and Maitland. Winter Garden was the lone holdout. The county's remaining three municipalities don't have parks, Weister said.

County officials also recognized the University of Central Florida, Valencia College, Orange County Public Schools and the YMCA for putting smoke-free-campus policies in place.

New policies forbid smoking anywhere on the campuses — indoors or out. The school district's proposal took effect in January, and UCF's and Valencia's ban will go into action this August.

"The number of students, faculty and staff that these policies will impact exceeds 332,000 or approximately 29 percent of the county's population," said Weister.

The County's smoke-free efforts were partly funded by a two-year federal grant from theU.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Among the initiatives funded was the county's All-In project, which seeks to cut smoking throughout Central Florida.

A major public health concern, smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Still, one in five Americans smokes, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Second-hand smoke is equally concerning as it contributes to an increased risk of heart disease and lung cancer in non-smokers, increasing the rate of both diseases by up to 30 percent.

Approximately 130 people die in Orange County every year from exposure to second-hand smoke, said Weister.

"A smoke-free policy is like a vaccine for heart attacks, lung cancer, other cancers and asthma attacks," said Dr. Kevin Sherin, director of the Orange County Health Department.