Loading...

Henrico County’s Recreation and Parks Are Officially 100% Tobacco-Free

Henrico County, VA. – Henrico County’s parks and outdoor recreational areas are officially tobacco-free. Henrico Recreation & Parks recently decided to commit to making its parklands and park facilities 100% tobacco-free and vapor-free to provide a clean, healthy, and safe environment for all to enjoy.

The policy change was initiated by Y Street, Virginia’s largest youth-led movement and a program of the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY). VFHY and Y Street members strive to ensure Virginians have equitable access to clean and healthier outdoor environments through its campaign, Share The Air. Share The Air aims to create 100% tobacco-free parklands by encouraging local park and recreation departments and government officials to adopt comprehensive tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free outdoor policies.

On October 4, 2023, Y Street members from JR Tucker High School and Highland Springs High School met with Henrico’s Recreation & Parks Commission to present how the county can enhance its parks and outdoor recreational areas and provide an even greater outdoor experience by going 100% tobacco-free. When asked why the campaign is important, Y Street member Nainika Sompallie replied, “I support Share The Air because my brother has had asthma his entire life, and when we’re in outdoor spaces, and someone is smoking or vaping, it causes his asthma to act up. Because of this, we can’t be in public spaces where someone is smoking due to the impact that secondhand smoke has on him. I believe everyone deserves to enjoy Virginia’s beauty, and by adopting a tobacco-free, e-cigarette-free policy, all Virginians, including those with respiratory conditions, can do exactly that.” Henrico County strives to create dedicated spaces that allow residents to be active, relax, and gather outdoors. For this reason, the Henrico Recreation and Parks Assistant Director signed a commitment form to adopt a voluntary tobacco-free outdoor policy and partner with Share The Air.

The impact of the new policy is expected to reduce tobacco and vape litter and residents’ exposure to secondhand smoke, and promote positive role modeling for youth who visit the county’s parks and outdoor recreational areas. Henrico Recreation & Parks joins the growing list of localities with tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free outdoor policies, becoming Share The Air’s 17th partner. According to Assistant Director Matt Reynal, “Whether you’re relaxing near a pond watching the ducks or playing on one of our athletic fields, we want our parks to enhance the physical and mental health of our residents and visitors. Our partnership with Share The Air reinforces this commitment to providing a healthy environment for all park users by encouraging patrons to avoid smoking and vaping in our parks.”

Henrico Recreation & Parks will receive free tobacco-free signage as part of its partnership with Share The Air to post as a reminder to park visitors.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

About the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY)

Established in 1999 by the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth empowers Virginia’s youth to make healthy choices by reducing and preventing youth tobacco and nicotine use, substance use, and childhood obesity.

VFHY takes a comprehensive approach to prevention work that includes reaching about 50,000 children each year through classroom-based prevention programs in public schools, after-school programs, community centers, daycares, and prevention programs across the state. VFHY’s award-winning marketing campaigns deliver prevention messaging to more than 500,000 children annually. In addition, VFHY’s research program provides scientific insight on methods to effectively reduce tobacco use. Since 2002, VFHY has funded 40 large research projects at universities throughout Virginia. For more information, visit www.vfhy.org.

Press Releases

Virginia Schools are Making Waves of Positive Change to Promote Healthy Hydration

This week, students, teachers, early childhood educators, staff, and administrators across Virginia are uniting to celebrate how their school communities think about water as part of Rev Your Bev Week. This statewide week of action is organized by Rev Your Bev, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth’s (VFHY) healthy hydration campaign. With the theme “Water […]

READ MORE
Lynchburg City Schools is Setting a Healthy Example to Increase Students’ Water Consumption

Lynchburg, VA – Students in Lynchburg are seeing significant, healthy changes this year. Lynchburg City Schools has made important updates to its School Wellness Policy to ensure students have increased access to water throughout the school day. This change will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the health and well-being of students throughout the division […]

READ MORE
Suffolk Public Schools is Setting a Healthy Example to Increase Students’ Water Consumption

Suffolk, VA – Students in Suffolk are seeing significant, healthy changes this fall. Suffolk Public Schools has made important updates to its School Wellness Policy to ensure students have increased access to water throughout the school day. This change will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the health and well-being of students throughout the division […]

READ MORE
King William County Public Schools is Setting a Healthy Example to Increase Students’ Water Consumption

King William County, VA – Students in King William County are seeing significant, healthy changes this new year. King William County Public Schools has made important updates to its School Wellness Policy to ensure students have increased access to water throughout the school day. This change will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the health and well-being of students throughout the […]

READ MORE
Grayson County Public Schools is Setting a Healthy Example to Increase Students’ Water Consumption

Grayson County, VA – Students in Grayson County will see significant, healthy changes in the new year. Grayson County Public Schools has made important updates to its School Wellness Policy to ensure students have increased access to water throughout the school day. This change will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the health and well-being of students throughout the division and […]

READ MORE
Campbell County Parks and Recreation Promotes Tobacco-Free Outdoor Environments

Campbell County, VA. Campbell County Parks and Recreation is committed to promoting 100% tobacco-free outdoor environments by partnering with Share The Air, a campaign by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY), and its largest youth-led movement, Y Street. Share The Air aims to create 100% tobacco-free parklands across the Commonwealth by supporting local parks […]

READ MORE