Smoke-free park zones in Kingman Ok'd

Brianna Brown, the president of the Kingman Youth Coalition Beating Up Teen Tobacco, made one last argument for a full ban on smoking in city parks Tuesday, but City Council voted to stick with a pilot program for smoke-free zones instead. "The pilot program is a really good start," said Councilwoman Erin Cochran. Hopefully it's the only action Council needs to take, she added. The program, which will continue to be implemented in the parks, consists of smoke-free zones in areas where people gather, such as the bleachers and playgrounds at Centennial Park.

Cigarette butt receptacles, many with signs attached that say, "Help keep our parks clean and smoke free," have gone up at Centennial, Walleck Ranch and Southside parks. But several Council members said enforcement concerns remain. Months ago, members of the coalition stood before the dais at City Complex holding several bags of cigarette butts. They had picked them up from local parks earlier that day. With the bags near bursting, the group asked Council to ban smoking in all local parks. Council members were unwilling to do so and instead directed Parks and Recreation Department staff to look into creating some type of smoke-free zone pilot program.

"Thank you for hearing our voice," Brown said. The coalition is thankful for the pilot program and feels it's a step in the right direction, with its butt receptacles and nonsmoking areas, but it does not address the issue of secondhand smoke, which is not safe in any form, she said. On top of the dangers presented by secondhand smoke, when children see adults smoking in the parks, they see it as acceptable behavior, she said.

A smidgen more than 26 percent of all people who live in Mohave County smoke cigarettes, according to the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In many ways, the program is more about compromise than it is about enforcing rules. Consideration is the only thing that's going to make this program work because there's no real way to enforce the zones, said Councilman Richard Anderson. There's self-enforcement, but that can create some uncomfortable situations, he added.

 He offered a piece of advice for those who plan to enforce the zones on their own when they see someone smoking in a smoke-free area: "Be kind. Be gentle." Councilman Larry Carver seemed concerned with enforcement as well. He wondered what type of reception people will receive when they tell someone smoking in a smoke-free area to stop. The program could create conflict and have negative consequences if people aren't careful. For Cochran, it came down to people coexisting. "People need to respect each other," she said.