SWAT Students Help Bring Tobacco Free Parks to Union County

Union County Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) members are showing that young people can have a meaningful impact on the policies that shape their community.

For nearly two years, Union County SWAT students, Tobacco Free Union, and community partners worked to build support for a tobacco free ordinance covering county parks and recreational spaces. Students played an important role by sharing their perspectives, participating in meetings with local decision makers, and helping educate community leaders about the importance of protecting public spaces from tobacco and vaping products.

The effort required persistence. While discussions about tobacco free parks took place over an extended period, SWAT members continued to advocate for the change and remained engaged in the process. Their involvement helped demonstrate that tobacco free parks are important not only for youth, but for families and community members who use these spaces for recreation and community activities.

The advocacy eventually resulted in the Union County Board of County Commissioners moving forward with an ordinance prohibiting smoking and vaping in county-owned public parks and recreational areas.

For the SWAT students, this accomplishment represents more than the passage of an ordinance. It provided them with firsthand experience in civic engagement and showed them how community advocacy can lead to meaningful policy change. Students were able to see the process from identifying a concern and educating decision makers to advocating for a solution and ultimately seeing that solution become local policy.

The new ordinance also creates an opportunity to reinforce healthy, tobacco free norms throughout Union County. Parks are places where children, families, and community members gather, and creating tobacco free environments helps support healthier recreational spaces.

Union County SWAT students should be proud of the role they played in this accomplishment. Their dedication, persistence, and willingness to speak up demonstrate the power of youth voices in creating positive change.

This achievement is a reminder that when young people are given the opportunity to participate in their community, they can help turn their ideas into lasting change.