1 / 15

Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine (PTM)

Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine (PTM). Tobacco-Free Community Recreation Policy Initiative Mary Bourque, CHES Public Health Educator. Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine. PTM is a comprehensive tobacco use prevention and control state level program. Counter Marketing

torrance
Download Presentation

Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine (PTM)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine (PTM) • Tobacco-Free Community Recreation Policy Initiative • Mary Bourque, CHES • Public Health Educator

  2. Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine • PTM is a comprehensive tobacco use prevention and control state level program. • Counter Marketing • Community Programs • School Programs • Evaluation • Enforcement • Statewide Tobacco Treatment • Statewide Youth Advocacy Network

  3. PTM Program Goals • Prevent Youth & Young Adults from Starting to Use Tobacco • Motivate & Assist Tobacco Users to Quit • Protect the Public From the Dangers of Secondhand Smoke • Identify and Eliminate Disparities Related to Tobacco Use Among Population Groups

  4. Legislated Policy Successes to Create Tobacco-Free Environments • Public Place Law • Workplace Smoking Law • Restaurant Law • Bar Law

  5. Youth Prevention • PTM has developed school and community policy initiatives as prevention tools designed to create tobacco-free environments for kids. • Prevention goals for policy development • Make “tobacco-free” the norm • Model healthy living

  6. Tobacco-Free Recreation Policy • PTM’s vision of this initiative • Provide support to local park & recreation programs to pass tobacco-free policies for all of their facilities • Vision first presented to the board of the Maine Recreation & Park Association to receive their support • Questions raised concerning enforcement and adult activities

  7. Reasons for a Tobacco-Free Community Recreation Policy • Breaks the connection between tobacco and recreation • Sends clear message to youth, leaders and parents that community recreation is serious about health of youth • Establishes a community norm that tobacco use is not acceptable • Limits opportunity for youth to engage in tobacco use • Involves community adults in role modeling tobacco-free living • Raises awareness of dangers of secondhand smoke • Reduces cigarette litter • Protects the health safety and welfare of everyone using recreation facilities

  8. Task Group Developed to Plan Initiative & Design Policy Manual Working Group • PTM staff member • Healthy Maine Partnership Directors • Board Member – ME. Park & Recreation • Head Coach for “Soccer Maine” • Media Contractor

  9. Plan Takes Shape • Research & literature says------ • Sharing success stories – case studies • Self-enforcing policies vs. ordinances? • Action plan • Resources for support – signage, reminder cards, presentation • Evaluation

  10. PTM promotes a comprehensive policy • No tobacco use on property by anyone at any time • Tobacco use prevention training provided annually to all volunteer coaches and staff • Neither tobacco company sponsorship nor their resources accepted • Tobacco-free signage posted • Procedures that reinforce the tobacco-free norm developed and violations addressed in a positive manner

  11. Re-enforcement vs. enforcement • The BIG question! How will we enforce this policy? • The workgroup debated this issue and, with experience from parks & recreation in Maine’s largest city, and only local health department, decided to stress positive reinforcement of policy. • The “we believe” theory of re-enforcement

  12. Procedures for Positive Re-enforcement • Announce at all events • Post signage in visible places • Point to sign and ask person violating policy to stop • Politely give a reminder card to person violating policy • Encourage coaches and other leaders to be active, vocal supporters of policy • Focus on positive message, “we are creating a tobacco-free environment for children.”

  13. Manual available on website • www.tobaccofreemaine.org • Click on “Prevention” • Community recreation – “click for more” • Scroll to the bottom – manual divided in 6 sections

  14. Update on success • Rolled out manual and signage at annual Park & Recreation meeting in October 2004. • Presented initiative at regional meetings for the HMP staff • Presented the initiative and final copies of manual to the state Park & Rec Board. • Promoting rec policy required workplan objective for the HMP local grant sites

  15. Update on success • PTM has received policies from 48 recreation programs throughout Maine and provided tobacco-free area signage to each site. • As signs go up in an area other communities are contacting PTM for information about developing tobacco-free policies

More Related