LIMA, OH (WLIO) - Monday night at Lima City Council, the city administration introduced legislation to designate city-owned parks and outdoor recreational venues as tobacco-free venues.
According to a Lima-Allen County Community Health assessment report, mortality rates for lung and bronchus cancers are higher in Lima than the rest of the United States, and The Healthy People 2030 target as well as 56% of local youth being exposed to secondhand smoke. Following tonight's council meeting, Your Hometown Stations talked with Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith about the importance of this legislation.
"There has been an increase in those cancers that are associated with smoking as well as statistics that show about the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, particularly for young people and individuals who have pre-existing conditions. While parks and outdoor spaces are designed to be active, healthy spaces for the community to enjoy, it just makes sense to not have those behaviors allowed in the parks as well," says Sharetta Smith, Mayor, City of Lima.
The proposed legislation would make smoking in city parks a minor misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of up to $150. City council placed the tobacco-free legislation on second reading for the next city council meeting on Monday, October 10th.
