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TFYR NEWS! PAGE 2 More Than Just Parks: All Types of• Recreational Now Tobacco Free Throughout Minnesota, the nation, and the world, more and more outdoor places and indoor recreation venues are going smoke free. Here are some highlights: Beaches Golf Courses Cities on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the U.S. are This fall,the Minnesota cities of Edina and Golden Valley both implementing smoke-free beach policies. In California,famous enacted tobacco-free policies that include their city-owned stretches of beach in Santa Monica,Venice, and Malibu are golf courses. Their policies are among the best in the nation, now smoke free. Nearly 34 miles of Los Angeles area beaches joining others such as San Juan Oaks Golf Club in California no longer allow smoking. Over a dozen New Jersey cities do in restricting tobacco use on the golf course itself. Way to not allow smoking on boardwalks or beaches, either. The go,Edina and Golden Valley! _ y smoke-free beach trend has spread to Australia as well. Sydney's Bondi and Manley beaches, as well as patrolled Zoos beaches in all of Queensland,are smoke free. Zoos from around the U.S. are going smoke free to protect the health of both humans and animals. In Minnesota,Duluth's Ski Resorts Lake Superior Zoo and Little Falls'Pine Grove Park Zoo have In September 2004, Maine's Black Mountain ski resort be- smoke-free policies for the zoo grounds. Examples from other came the first ski area in the nation to completely prohibit the states include the Sacramento Zoo, Bronx Zoo,Detroit Zoo, use of tobacco on its property. Black Mountain's manage- and Erie Zoo. Many other small zoos around the country ment cited health and creating a positive environment for have smoke-free policies for zoo property as well. ren and adults to recreate as reasons for enacting the W. Hyland Ski&Snowboard Area(Bloomington,MN)and Buck Hill Ski Area(Burnsville,MN)have taken first steps to- wards being tobacco free by enacting policies that cover cer- Minnesota Coastal Cleanup Yields High tain times and areas of their facilities. Amounts of Cigarette Litter Each year,the International Coastal Cleanup engages people Bowling Alleys to remove trash from the world's beaches and waterways As of March 31, 2005, all Hennepin County, MN, bowling al- and to identify the sources of the litter. During the 2003 leys will be smoke free! In addition,some bowling alleys around Cleanup, Minnesota volunteers collected 5,960 cigarettes Minnesota have voluntarily gone smoke free,including Sky- and cigarette filters. In Minnesota,cigarettes were the#1 line Lanes in Hermantown and Recreation Lanes in Rochester. source of litter on Minnesota beaches and waterways,ac- Many others are beginning to offer smoke-free family bowling counting for 50.3%of the total items collected,exceeding during weekend hours. the international average. Globally,smoking-related debris accounted for 34%of the total collected items. Public School Grounds Discarded cigarettes cause concern for several reasons: The Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act(MCIAA) states that all . Their harmful compounds pollute the land and water. public school buildings and all owned,rented,and leased facili- . Toddlers,pets,fish,and birds may ingest cigarette butts. ties and vehicles must be tobacco free. In addition,nearly all . Cigarette litter diminishes the beauty of public outdoor Minnesota school districts have expanded on the MCIAA to areas such as parks and beaches. include all school grounds and outdoor athletic facilities. While . Clean-up of cigarette butts requires additional private schools are not included in the school portion of the maintenance expenses. MCIAA,some private schools have gone completely tobacco as well. The Burnsville Sobriety High,an alternative school Tobacco-free policies for parks and beaches help eliminate udents with chemical health issues,enacted a tobacco- cigarette litter. On Bradley Beach in New Jersey,the Spring free campus policy for the 2004-2005 school year. Edina 2004 annual beach clean-up yielded no cigarette butts and Maplewood Sobriety Highs became tobacco free on Janu- because the city had adopted restrictions against smoking ary 1, 2005. in 2003.