There Is No Place For Smoking In Coos Bay Parks
Published on February 16, 2010 12:22 PM
Coos Bay, the largest city on the Oregon coast, famous for its pristine lakes and rivers, mountains, sand dunes, numerous parks and campground, intends to implement smoking ban in public parks. According to city officials, these measures are a part of state program aimed at improving population’s health.
“We consider those children and their parents, who come in park in order to relax and to take the air, shouldn’t inhale tobacco smoke, proceeding from some visitors of public places. “On the whole we believe that our children don’t have to see how somebody smokes nearby,”- declared the city manager.
On Tuesday night there was held a motion against smoking in Coos Bay parks, which was approved by city council who stated that the majority of council members supported this idea. The participants of this motion made statements referring the fact that children and non-smokers have right to be protected from harmful smoke, toxic substances and other adverse agents.
Jennifer Stephens, a personal trainer and Coos County Public Health employee, fair and square favored the discussion of stop smoking in parks, properly in Mingus Park. This park is a crowded place. “It is a purlieu of skateboarders and time and again I have seen them smoking there showing a bad way to younger kids. Then we are surprised why the smoking overwhelming majority is the younger generation,”- stressed Stephens. She met with support in the person of the Coos County public health administrator, Frances Smith.
When Stephens spoke about the current problem, she asked everyone in the audience to raise their hands in favor of the measure. About three-quarters of 50 presented people, inclusively parents and kids raised their hands.
One more advocate of this idea is Stephen Brown, who is the tobacco prevention director for Coos County health. He affirmed the utterances of his colleagues and added that 90% of people who smoke start this process when they are kids. “Our county possesses the worst health statistics in the state, and this is sorrowful. We should render a kind of influence on children who made keen on smoking,”- claimed Brown.
Four councilors and the mayor agreed, flavoring the adoption of a non-smoking ordinance. Still there are a number of people who does not support this ordinance. They just claim that government interferes in their lives and this is unfair. “We are people too, even if we have some habits that you consider to be unbearable”. Councilor Gene Melton joined voting against the ordinance and stated the following: "There's no a doctor that is able to prove secondhand smoke is harmful".
