Smoke-Free Outdoor Spaces

Research shows that smoke-free outdoor air policies promote a cleaner, safer environment for children and adults, while also helping to reduce the environmental and maintenance cost of cigarette butt litter.  Everyone has the right to breathe clean air. The NYC Coalition for a Smoke-Free City works in all five boroughs to advocate for smoke-free outdoor spaces.  Smoke-free outdoor policies will help protect the health of all New Yorkers and the environment.

Protect Health

Smoke-free outdoor spaces are vital to the health of all New Yorkers. Tobacco kills more New Yorkers each year than AIDS, drugs, homicide and suicide combined.[1]  Every year, cigarettes kill some 7,500 New Yorkers and thousands more suffer smoking-related strokes, heart attacks, lung diseases and cancers.[2]

There is no safe level of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure.  Being upwind from a smoker does not eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke[3] and just 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke can increase the risk of blood clots[4] and can lead to more frequent asthma attacks in asthmatic children.[5]  Even with non-smoking policies in place, more than half of non-smoking New Yorkers (57%) still have elevated levels of cotinine, a by-product of nicotine, in their blood. This is a result of being recently exposed to toxic SHS in concentrations high enough to leave residues in the body.[6] Smoke-free outdoor spaces ensure that we protect our families from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Protect the Environment

New York City is home to 14 miles of beaches and over 28,000 acres of municipal parkland.[7] Cigarette butts are toxic, slow to decompose, costly to manage and growing in volume.[8]  Seventy-five percent of the litter found on New York City beaches is cigarette butts.[9]  Smoke-free outdoor spaces ensure that New York City parks and beaches are clean and enjoyable to visit for all New York families.

Exciting News: City Council Passes Smoke-Free Parks & Beaches Legislation!

Effective May 23rd, 2011, all public parks, beaches, and pedestrian plazas in New York City will be smoke-free!  New York City joins Chicago, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Seattle in passing this historic legislation that helps protect all individuals from the dangers of secondhand smoke and keep parks and beaches clean.  Read more at the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation website.

1. NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  “Summary of Vital Statistics 2008.”  Bureau of Vital Statistics, 2008.
2. NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  “Summary of Vital Statistics 2008.”  Bureau of Vital Statistics, 2008.
3. NYC Department of Parks and Recreation and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  “Small-scale survey of cigarette-related litter items in NYC parks, beaches and playgrounds.”  Summer 2010.
4. Barnoya, J et al.  “Cardiovascular effects of secondhand smoke.” Circulation 111, 2005.
5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General: 6 Major Conclusions of the Surgeon General.” Office on Smoking and Health, 2006.
6. Ellis JA et al.  “Secondhand smoke exposure among nonsmokers nationally and in New York City.” Nicotine & Tobacco Research 11(4), 2008.
7. New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. http://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/beaches [accessed 2011 February 22].
8. San Francisco Department of the Environment.  http://www.cigwaste.org/index.php/Research/ [accessed 2010 June 14].  
9. NYC Department of Parks and Recreation and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  “Small-scale survey of cigarette-related litter items in NYC parks, beaches and playgrounds.”  Summer 2010.