The Epic Battle
2008
Tobacco-Free Outdoor Spaces/Festival of Lights Event
August 2008
On August 20, 2008, the PYAA attended the Festival of Lights to promote tobacco-free outdoor spaces in Peterborough. Our goal was to educate the public about the harmful effects of tobacco-use in outdoor settings and to gain support for our campaign.
Hundreds of festival-goers lined up to win a prize by playing our trivia wheel and to find out more about the issue. We also conducted a short opinion survey to gauge public support for tobacco-free outdoor spaces in our community.
110 people were surveyed and 92.7% (or 102 people) responded positively to the question, “Would you support tobacco-free parks and recreational spaces in the city of Peterborough?” This was a clear expression that the issue of tobacco-free outdoor spaces needs to be addressed in our city!
“Play, Live, Be… Tobacco-Free” @ Cobourg Beach
July 2008
On the morning of July 3, buses pulled up to Cobourg beach bringing six Youth Action Alliances from the Central East Region together. Their purpose was to educate the public about tobacco-free sports and recreation through a day of fun beach activities.
The Peterborough YAA hosted a multi-station game, informing children of the effects of tobacco on the environment. Each station had an interactive component, from a puppet show, to digging for bags of cigarette butts in the sand. Other YAAs ran activities such as beach volleyball, face painting and an obstacle course.
Despite overcast skies, the event was a great success and helped promote tobacco-free recreation as well as create public awareness around the environmental damage caused by cigarette litter.
“Detective Buttout and the Mystery Package” Summer Play
July 2008
This summer, the PYAA produced a short eight minute play to perform at local day camps throughout the month of July.
“Detective Buttout & the Mystery Package” tells the tale of a pet owner, Mr. Smokesalot, who seeks the help of a detective after his dog, Jessie, falls ill. Detective Buttout soon discovers that the dog has been exposed to secondhand smoke and has ingested numerous cigarette butts. It turns out that it wasn’t the pesky cat Mittens that harmed Jessie after all, but Mr. Smokesalot himself! Now aware of the dangers of tobacco to animals, Mr. Smokesalot promises to protect the health of his pet, and his own, by kicking the habit.
Our audience showed a very enthusiastic response to the play and went away with important information about the dangers of tobacco. The play received media coverage from both CHEX TV and the Peterborough Examiner.
Smoke-Free Cars Campaign
January-March 2008
In late winter of this year, the PYAA were spotted all over Peterborough campaigning in support of smoke-free cars. The focus of their campaign was the proposed Bill 11; legislation which would prohibit smoking in cars carrying passengers under the age of 16. The YAA created a petition in support of the bill which they brought to numerous locations throughout the city including Galaxy Cinemas and Lansdowne Place Mall. Over 3000 Peterborough residents signed the petition and voiced their support for legislation protecting children from secondhand smoke. The completed petition was presented to local MPP Jeff Leal to bring before the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. On June 16, 2008 the province of Ontario passed Bill 11 and banned smoking in cars where children are present.
Click here to see our events from 2007, 2006, 2005
