Stamp Out Cigarettes on Beaches and Parks

Collier County values our shared community spaces, including beaches and parks, as we connect with nature, friends, and family. Esteemed by both locals and visitors, we are collaborating with community partners to protect our properties and keep them clean.

Governor DeSantis and the State of Florida have passed the updated Florida Clean Air Act this past summer allowing cities and counties to make their beaches and parks smoke-free. Many cities and counties within Florida have moved forward and passed their own ordinance to ban smoking and vaping in their parks and beaches. Smoke-free beaches and parks will continue to strengthen tourism and in return, improve our local economy.

Tobacco Facts:

 * Annually, two-thirds of cigarettes smoked in the world are discarded as litter. Then, they contaminate the water, poison animals and could possibly be ingested by children (1).

* There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke; even brief exposure can cause serious health problems (such as coronary heart disease, stroke and lung cancer in adults who do not smoke). (2,3,4)

* Eliminating smoking and vaping is the only way to fully protect people from secondhand smoke exposure and to protect the environment from cigarette butts.

Collier County, home to over 70 parks, beaches and preserves could be made smoke-free if a local ordinance is passed. A healthy outdoor environment models positive behaviors to our youth, while reducing the community’s exposure to secondhand smoke. Almost nine out of 10 adults who smoke first began smoking before age eighteen. (2)

The Tobacco Free Collier Partnership has been educating the county on the benefits of beaches and parks going smoke-free. We invite residents to join us by educating friends and family, and by contacting our county commissioners to advocate for clean, safe, and healthy beaches and parks in our community. The Tobacco Free Collier Partnership is comprised of individuals and agencies representing many different sectors of the community including hospitals, nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, medical clinics, educational institutions, and community leaderships committed to establishing a Tobacco-Free Collier County. The Partnerships mission is to develop and promote policies which reduce the use and effects of tobacco in Collier County.

(1) The Florida Senate (October 19th, 2021) Florida Clean Air Act. Retrieved February 1st, 2023, from

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/224/Analyses/2022s00224.pre.ca.PDF

(2) US Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014.

(3) US Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2006

(4) https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/secondhand-smoke/about.html.