A short ceremony is scheduled to kick off tobacco-free parks in Lawrence.
The ceremony, set for 9 a.m. Friday, April 1, by the playground in South Park, 1141 Massachusetts St., will mark the first day the new policy is in effect and will include the unveiling of tobacco-free parks 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.