1.	In the past we have had designated no-smoking areas in covered eating areas and other shaded areas inside the park. It was very hard to police because people didn’t adhere to the signage no matter how many signs we put up. Our customers complained, and it created a policing problem for our staff. Patrons could smoke everywhere else in the park, but they just didn’t seem to care when they entered a no-smoking zone and we didn’t want customers arguing with each other. This often happened when a staff member was not nearby. Some people with asthma and allergies need non-smoking areas that they can depend on.
2.	As people come into the park, they typically find a location or lounge chairs to put all their stuff. They then tell their kids where to find them and they often park there all day. As the park fills up it is very difficult to move. Kids and parents can’t control the smokers who sit down beside them and if you are bothered by or allergic to smoke they have a serious problem potentially for hours.
3.	It is very typical for parents to drop off their kids for the day. Under age smokers were constantly using our facility as a place to start smoking with their friends. We don’t want to have to police this and we don’t want parents thinking that their kids leave the house non-smokers and come back smoking behind their backs. Parents need to know that they are leaving their kids in a healthy, safe and clean environment.
4.	The same applies to parents who feel their kids are in danger if they are exposed to second hand smoke. Kids very often don’t have the knowledge or the option to move away if they are in line, etc. Again we want the parents to feel confident that this is a safe place for them to not only leave their kids but to let them wander around without their constant supervision. The parents now know Wild River Country is a place where they can relax as well.
5.	We have 325 staff and at least 50% of them are below the age of 18. We don’t want to expose them to the peer pressure they get to smoke from some of the older staff, which again their parents appreciate. We want to be the employer of choice, and parents have a big influence on this. We know that most parents don’t want their kids to leave the house for their first job as non-smokers and then find that they are going back to school as smokers.
6.	We have established a comfortable shaded smoking area just outside the gate which is only a few minutes walk from anywhere in the park.

Click here to learn more about Stamp Out Smoking brought to you by the Arkansas Department of Health