White Plains CitizeNetReporter - WESTCHESTER RESIDENTS PROTECT CHILDREN FROM 2nd Hand Cigarette Smoke

WPCNR NewsReel. From Westchester County Department of Communications. April 22, 2002. 10:00 AM EDT: Westchester County has won a national competition to see which county could generate the most pledges from its residents to keep their homes smoke-free when children are around, County Executive Andy Spano announced today.

The contest was sponsored by the National Association of Counties (NACo) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection. Westchester actively participated in the contest, as part of its effort to fight underage smoking and protect children from second-hand smoke.

The co0nty was recently notified by NACo that of the 13 counties in nine states that participated in the challenge Westchester County itself had almost as many pledges as all the others combined. Westchester’s total, according to NACo, was 1,979.

“This award is a symbolic recognition of our efforts in Westchester County to protect our children and grandchildren from second-hand smoke,” said Spano. “I want to thank all Westchester residents who took the pledge to keep their homes smoke free when children are around.”

He added, “"The Smoke-Free Home Pledge fit in perfectly with our anti-tobacco campaign, Butt Out Westchester. However, getting the pledges was only a beginning. We are continuing our efforts to promote smoke-free homes for Westchester County's children." Westchester will be honored in July at NACo’s annual conference in New Orleans. In addition, NACo will detail the Westchester effort in an upcoming issue of its newsletter. “Your whole-hearted embracing of this issues is reassuring as the public becomes more and more aware of the dangers associated with passive smoking especially with children,” NACo said in notifying the county of its award.

Westchester’s effort was multi-faceted and unique: Westchester County actively promoted the Smoke-Free Home Pledge by launching the event at a press conference held by Spano. It also posted a link on its website in which residents could easily take the pledge; enlisted the help of 14 community-based organizations to gather pledges; circulated sign-in rosters at county worksites; and designed and created flyers that were posted throughout Westchester County encouraging all residents to take the pledge.

For the third consecutive year, Westchester County will be spending $2.6 million this year on anti-smoking initiatives primarily aimed at deterring underage smoking. A component of that are efforts to protect children – and adults – from second-hand smoke. For example, some areas of Westchester’s parks will now ban smoking all together, and Spano has proposed restrictions on how close smokers may be to entrances of county buildings.

Last year, the Westchester Chapter of the American Lung Association gave Westchester an “A” for its effort to deter underage smoking.


Create an account		The White Plains Daily Internet Newspaper...Founded 2000 A.D....


			Designed and hosted by WestchesterInternet.com