Playgrounds may become tobacco-free

Tobacco use is already prohibited at many places around the county - beaches, baseball fields, Sarasota Memorial Hospital and county facilities, such as libraries and the Administration Center on Ringling Boulevard.

The county commissioners may soon add another location to that list - children's public playgrounds.

During a debate June 28 in which the commissioners urged convenience stores, smoke shops and other vendors to stop the sale of candy-flavored tobacco products, Commissioner Jon Thaxton suggested creating tobacco-free zones around playgrounds.

"In my opinion, there's good evidence on the effects of secondhand smoke and good evidence that kids at impressionable ages look to model adults' behavior," he said.

A former smoker himself who picked up the habit in middle school, Thaxton said he had been asked by a parent to create the tobacco-free zone.

"I got a call from a constituent who was surprised that we didn't already prohibit it," he said.

The woman was at Urfer Park, off Bee Ridge Road, with her child, and another parent was there with a child. The second parent had a cigarette, Thaxton said.

Uncomfortable confronting the smoker herself, she called Thaxton to ask that something be done.

The full commission agreed to explore a tobacco-free zone, so county staff will most likely create a resolution doing just that.

Public input from those on both sides of the issue will be accepted before any such measure is enacted.