BOWDOINHAM

Bowdoinham Selectmen recently adopted a tobacco-free resolution as part of its goal to keep the town a safe and healthy place to live and work.

The resolution declares that all town-owned parks and recreation areas are now tobacco-free zones. This includes Mailly Waterfront Park, Bowdoinham Recreation Fields on Ridge Road, Veterans’ Park, the tennis court and the soon to be constructed Matthew T. Parker Skate Park. The resolution prohibits the use of any tobacco product, including cigarettes, electronic nicotine devices, cigars, and spit tobacco, by any visitor or guest.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of death and disease in Maine according to a press release issued by Access Health, a local Healthy Maine Partnership coordinated by Mid Coast Hospital.

Additionally, exposure to secondhand smoke — a combination of the smoke in the air from a burning cigarette, cigar or pipe and the smoke exhaled by a person who is smoking — is a leading cause of major health problems. Children and older adults are particularly susceptible to its effects.

Wendy Cunningham, chairwoman of the Bowdoinham Board of Selectmen, said the board supported the resolution and particularly protecting youth from exposure to secondhand smoke.

“I think so many of the fields that we’re talking about are the fields where the kids are,” she said. “It’s the ball park, it’s the basketball park, it will be the skate park once that opens. In today’s environment, it just makes sense not to be smoking around kids.”

Rather than approving a policy or proposing an ordinance, the board adopted a resolution, which means there’s no enforcement, Cunningham said. There will be tobacco-free signs at these designated areas, which she expects will stop the few people who still do smoke there.

“In addition to protecting the health of Bowdoinham residents, the passage of this resolution sends a positive message to the young people who are using the parks for their health and well-being,” said Linda Christie, tobacco specialist with Access Health. “We applaud the town of Bowdoinham for their efforts”

Access Health, the Healthy Maine Partnership that serves the greater Bath- Brunswick area, provided the town with assistance in creating the policy. The coalition has also worked with other parks and recreation programs in Bath, Brunswick, and Topsham to develop similar policies.