East Point bans smoking in city parks

The City Council and mayor of East Point have voted unanimously to prohibit smoking in the city’s parks and recreation areas.

Every year, on May 31, the World Health Organization marks World No Tobacco Day to highlight the health and additional risks associated with tobacco use, and to advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. The Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted in September to ban smoking in 18 county-run parks. With the passage of the East Point ordinance, all Fulton County parks and recreation areas are now smoke-free.

Through the Proud to be Smoke Free Fulton Campaign, the Fulton County Partnerships to Improve Community Health program and its partners are educating the public about the health hazards related to smoking and breathing smoke from other people’s tobacco products, known as secondhand smoke. The campaign partners also make people and business owners aware of tests showing that the air in places around the county that ban smoking is 10 times cleaner than that in establishments where smoking is allowed.