Sacramento Regional Transit District Smoke Free Policy Recognition Event
(SACRAMENTO) – The SOL Project – Saving Our Legacy, African Americans for Smoke Free Safe Places is pleased to recognize the Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) for their recent adoption of a 100% smoke-free policy at all bus stops and light rail stations. A recognition event is planned for Friday, May 31, 2013, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. This day coincides with World No Tobacco Day.
World No Tobacco Day is celebrated annually on May 31st to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and to advocate for tobacco control policies. Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death globally and is currently responsible for killing over 48,000 African Americans annually.
In 2006, the California Air Resources Board designated secondhand smoke as a toxic air contaminate with no safe level of exposure. There are over 4,000 chemicals in one cigarette butt, which is enough per every quart of water to kill 50 fish. RT’s new policy will protect thousands of passengers from secondhand smoke and reduce the number of cigarette butts and paraphernalia that litter our bus stops and light rail stations, which eventually can end up in gutters, creeks, and rivers.
Over the past two years, the SOL Project, along with our youth volunteers called the “SOLdiers”, have conducted cigarette little pick up events for World No Tobacco Day and Earth Day to demonstrate the need for a smoke-free policy to RT Board members and staff. In two 2-hour events, the “SOLdiers” collected over 5,600 pieces of tobacco litter at 75 bus stops and light rail stations. This information was shared with RT Board members, who ultimately decided to pass a 100% smoke free policy.
The SOL Project advocates for healthy, smoke-free policies in Sacramento and San Joaquin counties. SOL is a program of the Public Health Foundation Enterprises and is funded though Proposition 99, the tobacco tax initiative. For more information and to RSVP for the Policy Recognition Event, please call Twlia Laster, SOL Project Manager at 1-888-774-7685 ext. 100 or email tl_solproject@yahoo.com
For more information about The SOL Project visit www.thesolproject.com.
