News and Events

City of Vero Beach Receives New Signs to Reduce Secondhand Smoke Exposure
November 29, 2016

In 2012 the City of Vero Beach progressively passed a Resolution restricting smoking around children’s playgrounds and utilized signage to request compliance.

Leisure Square is the City of Vero Beach’s center of recreation programs for children youth and adults, and the facility’s no smoking signs were badly faded. Leisure Square offers year-long programs and summer camps using their facility’s swimming pool, meeting rooms, racquetball court, volleyball court, and ball fields. No Smoking signs were also “out of date”, not reflecting the use of smokeless tobacco or electronic cigarettes.

Policies and signs restricting the use of tobacco are a strategy to make tobacco use less socially acceptable which has a positive impact on decreasing youth tobacco initiation. QuitDoc and Tobacco Free Florida are focused on reducing the use of all tobacco products, especially smokeless tobacco products typically associated with ball fields and sports venues.

 
Jeff Matthews, Director of Recreation Programs for the City of Vero Beach, accepts new signs from Leslie Spurlock, Tobaco Prevention Specialist for Indian River County

Cities across the U.S. with Major League Baseball venues are passing legislation to take tobacco use out of the game, specifically smokeless tobacco. After QuitDoc had multiple meetings with decision makers from the City of Vero Beach, both Recreation Commission members and Recreation leadership agreed that updating signage to include no dipping, no smoking and no vaping would support the original 2012 Resolution and decrease children’s exposure to tobacco.

For more information on creating tobacco free policies to support businesses and multi-unit housing, contact Leslie Spurlock at LSpurlock@QuitDoc.com.