The City of Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department along with the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department will have a short ceremony to begin tobacco-free parks in Lawrence.
The ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. Friday, April 1, by the playground in South Park, 1141 Massachusetts St., the first day the new policy is in effect. The ceremony will end with the unveiling of the tobacco-free park signage.
The Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department and its advisory board along with the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department and members of the LiveWell Lawrence Tobacco-Free Living Work Group partnered in 2015 to examine a tobacco-free parks policy. In January, the Lawrence City Commission adopted the policy, which bans the use of all tobacco products and smoking delivery devices on all Parks and Recreation Department operated, programmed and leased lands.
Creating tobacco-free parks is one way communities can prevent tobacco use. Benefits include:
• Reducing exposure to secondhand smoke
• Decreasing tobacco product litter
• Avoids creating the impression among youth that using tobacco products is a normal practice
For more information about Lawrence’s policy, visit lawrenceks.org/lprd/tobaccofree or contact Recreation Operations Manager Jimmy Gibbs at (785) 832-3450.