Smoke Free Zones
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, “The debate is over. The science is clear; secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard.” The 2010 Surgeon General’s report says, “There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. Any exposure to tobacco smoke – even an occasional cigarette or exposure to secondhand smoke – is harmful."
In 2010, teens from Burlington High School’s Students Taking Action and Risks Together (START) Group connected with our coalition wanting to do something about people smoking at the bus stops and their exposure to secondhand smoke. Burlington high school and middle school kids use public transportation as their bus to school and were concerned about people who would smoke next to the bus stops or inside the bus shelters (even though they are designated non-smoking). Our coalition, along with representatives from Burlington High School and the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) designed a plan to raise awareness about this issue. We created a poster contest for Burlington High School and Middle school students. Students were asked to create a posters would raise awareness about secondhand smoke and encourage smokers to step away from the bus areas.
The 2011 contest winners are
From Burlington High School - Madison Francois
From Hunt Middle School - Emily Ax and Emilia NunezCCTA donated ad space on the side of two city buses to the Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community and the Burlington High School START (Students Taking Action and Risks Together) Group to for two winning posters with messages to remind the community about the negative impact of secondhand smoke and the importance of protecting the Burlington youth who use the city bus as their transportation to school.
The judges for the contest were:
Mayor Bob Kiss,
School Board Commissioner Jill Evans
CCTA Bus Driver Thomas Bridges
VT Dept. of Health Tobacco Control Media Specialist Yvonne ZietlowLucas LaBounty, a Burlington High School Junior, was one of the teens who helped to start this project after being inspired by another VT youth group who were able to pass a town ordinance to ban smoking in a park near their school. When asked why he was interested in pursuing this effort, Lucas said, “There's no reason we shouldn't try to make our community as healthy as possible.”
When Thomas Bridges, CCTA Bus Driver was asked why he was interested in participating in the vote said, "My goal as a CCTA Driver is to deliver our customers where they need to go, safely and in a timely manner. I am pleased to know that Burlington students are concerned about the health of others and are interested in maintaining the quality of life for our riders in and around our bus stops.”
