Silver Springs is latest village to ban tobacco use in its park

A decision to ban smoking in parts of the village park has earned praise from a local health organization. The Village Board has voted that tobacco use would no longer be allowed in the park’s cabins and baseball dugouts, or on the playground. “The park is used mainly for children’s sports activities and family events, so it was a fairly simple decision for the board to make,” said Mayor Denise Coffey. “It was finalized in July or August.”

Signs announcing the new rules were posted last week. Silver Springs is one of the first villages in Wyoming County to make such a decision, said Shellye Dale-Hall of the Smoke-Free NOW coalition. A similar proposal involving the village of Gainesville’s park pavilion is being finalized. “It’s a step in the right direction for reducing tobacco usage in our counties,” she said. “Unfortunately Wyoming and Orleans counties have a higher tobacco usage rate than New York State.”

In a similar measure, the village of Medina has earned praise for its own July 9 decision to ban smoking in all seven of its parks. The policy was enacted after the Students United for Positive Action Group from Medina Central School sent a letter to the village board, requesting the measure. Smoke-Free NOW is a program run through the Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse Inc. The coalition serves Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties.