Tobacco-Free Sports and Recreation Policies

Tobacco-Free Sports and Recreation Policies
Parents and team administrators were observed more frequently using tobacco products than
coaches or players. For example, parents were noticed smoking “all the time” (n=22) and team
administrators were noticed smoking “all the time” (n=10) (Table 2). Due to the independence of
the tobacco use questions and the multiple responses, it is not possible to know how many
individual smokers were seen. The most common product noticed was cigarettes and the most
common location was outside the arena doors (109 counts), followed by the parking lot (30
counts). One respondent noticed a coach or team staff member smoking inside the arena in the
last year.
In contrast to the tobacco use noticed by spectators, hockey administration informants reported
little to no tobacco usage within the hockey team management level. A PHU informant did share
that a Team Manager smokes ‘discretely’ and not in front of the players. The majority of all
interviewees in this case study reported that although parents continue to smoke outside arena
doors, they have sensed that these numbers have decreased in the past few years.
I’d say there’s so out of seventeen families there’s one, two maybe three, two or
three families out of the seventeen [who smoke]. (Former Coach)
As part of a general discussion on tobacco use, focus group participants were asked to
brainstorm a list of different tobacco products. Participants of both focus groups referred to a
variety of tobacco products used by people they know including chew, bong, rolled, cigars,
cigarillos, weed/marijuana, and pipe. This list served to inform discussions about tobacco usage
among people in their age group, both within hockey teams and outside of the hockey setting. A
few players felt that the majority of people their age who do use tobacco tend to engage in little
to no other activities (e.g., structured sports):
[I] see a lot of kids at the [names arena], they, they don’t really have much to do so
they just go to the arena and cause trouble. (Bantam Player)
I think [hockey players] are more busy doing other things and they, like instead of
getting into like the wrong crowd. (Peewee Player)
It appeared that these players viewed sport as a form of protection against tobacco use and their
hockey involvement served as a positive force in their lives:
You’re preoccupied and you’re in a good environment. (Bantam Player)
Ontario Tobacco Research Unit 20