How You Can Help Your Sports and Recreation Become Tobacco Free

• Organizations can create a tobacco-free policy and share it with your players, coaches, parents, and municipalities. The health unit has a toolkit to help you with draft policies, player pledges, and other support materials. Visit the website www.playlivebetobaccofree.ca for details.
• Coaches - talk to your players and explain to them that tobacco stops them from being the best they can be by slowing their reaction time, making them tire more easily, and making it harder to breathe. Have players sign a tobacco-free pledge. Send home information for parents too so they can protect and promote the health of their young athletes too.
• Parents - you are your children's strongest role model. If you use tobacco products, don't use them around your children. Keep the air free from secondhand smoke in the places they live and play. Support your team in their tobacco-free efforts by encouraging spectators and others to keep the areas where kids play free of tobacco. Talk to your local councillor about bylaws that keep parks and recreation areas tobacco free.
• Community Members - whether or not you have youth involved in sports you can help promote healthier communities by being a positive role model and by raising your voice in support of tobacco-free outdoor spaces for sports and recreation. Many local councils in this region have already passed smoke-free bylaws. If your local council hasn't passed a No Smoking bylaw for outdoor spaces, let your local politicians know it's time.

For more ideas, draft policies, and more, please visit www.playlivebetobaccofree.ca.