On September 17, 2021, the Reducing Youth Access to Tobacco Program hosted a Tobacco Litter Clean-up event at La Bonita Park in La Habra. The purpose of this event was to increase awareness and evaluate the effectiveness of the existing smoke-free parks policy that the city of La Habra passed in 2019. Over 35 youth and adult community members came together to collect tobacco litter in areas such as the playground, basketball court, baseball court, skate park, and parking lot. Volunteers were joined by City Council Member, James Gomez, and two La Habra Police Officers. In just 45 minutes, the volunteers picked up 1,153 tobacco litter items! One issue that the group noticed was that there was no “smoke-free park” signage. Council member Gomez assured the volunteers that he would address this with the appropriate person at the city. This event was a success as it helped increase awareness of the risk that tobacco litter poses to young children, animals, and the community. This event helped engage the community in efforts to create awareness of existing tobacco use and increase compliance of the smoke-free parks policy.
