Edmond Soccer Club :: Youth Soccer :: Recreational

Edmond Soccer Club is Tobacco-Free
Jul 16 2009 -

Edmond Soccer Club is Tobacco-Free

The Edmond Soccer Club located at 1502 West Danforth Road in Edmond, Oklahoma adopted a new tobacco-free policy. This policy will reduce soccer players’ observation of routine tobacco use and help to prevent them from future addiction and health problems. It will also promote a safe environment for everyone at the complex.

Edmond Soccer Club Board Members have adopted this voluntary policy to protect its athletes, members, coaches, spectators, and parent volunteers from secondhand smoke. As well, this policy will help to prevent the initiation of tobacco use. The policy prohibits the use of all tobacco products (i.e. cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chew, and snuff) by everyone entering the park. President of the Edmond Soccer Club, Russ Lissuzzo, recognizes the importance of providing an environment where adults can model responsible behavior for youth. Edmond Soccer Club hosts two annual tournaments; The 16th Annual Beat The Heat Competitive Tournament in August and the Turkey Shootout Recreational Tournament in November. The new Tobacco-Free policy will be enforced during both of these tournaments.

A tobacco-free policy is not against the adult tobacco user. The focus leans away from whether adults use tobacco, but towards “where” they use tobacco. The policy is an effort to protect youth from future addiction and health problems, as well as supporting a safe environment for athletes, staff, and visitors. As the Edmond Soccer Club wraps up its Registration for Fall Soccer 2009, familiar coaches and teams will notice the bright blue and white “breathe easy… no tobacco use” signs posted along the entrances to each soccer field at the complex. Register for fall Soccer at ESC at www.edmondsoccer.com.

The Surgeon General reported in 2006 that youth are especially vulnerable to the health effects of secondhand smoke because their respiratory, immune, and nervous systems are still developing. In addition, youth are typically exposed to secondhand smoke involuntarily and have limited options for avoiding exposure. They depend on their parents and on other adults to protect them. The evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Tobacco-free policies like the one that the Edmond Soccer Club is implementing, will help eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke.

The Edmond Soccer Club has joined with the Central Oklahoma Turning Point Tobacco Use Prevention Coalition to help implement this tobacco-free policy. One goal of the Tobacco Use Prevention Coalition is to increase the number of outdoor recreational facilities that have tobacco-free policies. The Coalition can help any public or private recreation facility in Oklahoma County become tobacco-free. For more information, please contact Tanya Mendoza at 405 425-4490.