Presenting Author: Russell McIntire, PhD, MPH, Thomas Jefferson University

ABSTRACT

Background:To create healthy, smoke-free public spaces, Philadelphia prohibits smoking in all city-owned and operated public parks. Identifying the proportion of smokers and the factors associated with smoking in Philadelphia parks would be useful for smoke-free space monitoring; yet there are no established methods for doing so.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to 1) collect data on smoking in three Philadelphia Parks (Washington Square Park, Independence Square Park, and Louis Kahn Park), 2) identify the proportion of smokers in each park and 3) identify characteristics that predict smoking among adult park patrons.

Methods: During May and June 2016, we observed all patrons entering the parks on Thursdays from 4:15 to 4:45 PM. We used handheld electronic devices to categorize patrons by smoking status, age, gender, and tobacco product. We used logistic regression to assess the association of these variables with smoking.

Results: We observed 4,822 people, of which 510 (11%) were children. Among adults, 61 (2.6%) in Washington Square were smoking (n = 2,346), 45 (2.6%) in Independence Square were smoking (n=1,732), and 18 (7.7%) in Kahn Park were smoking (n = 234). Kahn Park was associated with a greater likelihood of smoking (OR=3.05, CI=1.77-5.26) compared to Washington Square. Males were more likely than females to be smokers (OR=1.45, CI=1.01-2.09).

Implications:Our study identified that smoking was most common in Louis Kahn Park, and that males were more likely than females to smoke. We will share our results with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health to inform tobacco-control efforts in Philadelphia parks.

Authors: Russell McIntire, PhD, MPH; David Singer, PharmD; Brittany DiVito, MPH, BSN, RN; Vincent Basile; Melissa DiCarlo, MPH, MS; Eileen German; and Colleen Payton, MPH, CHES.