Conway Parks Go Tobacco-Free - April 16th, 2010
On October 24, 2009, Asian Pacific Coalition for A Smoke-Free Arkansas (APCSFA) held “Taking Care of Your Children’s Air” event at Laurel Park in Conway. Volunteers and Asian Coalition Team Fighting Against Smoking and Tobacco (ACTFAST) team members disseminated the brochures to the park attendees and picked up the cigarette butts at the park. ACTFAST team members collected 2 gallon bottles of cigarette butts. The litter was presented to Mr. Tab Townsell, the mayor of Conway, and Mr. Brian Knopp, Conway Parks and Recreations Director. In addition, the coalition and ACTFAST team leaders took action by presenting and encouraging the Conway mayor and parks director to support the Conway Smoke-Free Parks Campaign. The mayor acknowledged the coalition’s hard work by providing support to the campaign. On January 26, 2010 the coalition and team presented the campaign to the Conway Committee City Council.
The ACTFAST team members encouraged the city council by sharing their messages:
Angela Khoo said, “Adults smoking at the park in front of the children, it can give children a perception that smoking is acceptable.”
Harsha Bande said, “Smoking kills a lot of Arkansans each year and it costs Arkansas a lot of money. Save Your Life, Save Your Money, Be Smoke Free.“
Finally, on March 23 2010, the Conway City Council decided to ban not only smoking at the parks, but also the use of tobacco products in the Conway city parks and recreational facilities.
