Park Enjoyment and Secondhand Exposure to Substance Use and Litter: A Crowd-Sourced Vignette Study

Background: It has been recommended that parks become tobacco-free due to potential negative effects on health and the environment; however, another aspect that may contribute to the need for parks that prohibit tobacco, as well as e-cigarettes and marijuana, is the potential negative impact on visitors' overall enjoyment of parks.

Objectives: The purpose of this vignette study was to explore the effects of secondhand smoke and litter from cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and marijuana on park enjoyment.

Methods: Participants (n = 500) were recruited from MTurk and randomly assigned to read one of four expert-validated vignettes. The vignettes included three park scenarios with an exposure to a different substance and one control scenario of only experiencing nature. Participants were invited to answer items about demographics, current substance use, and vignette enjoyment. The findings indicate that the highest level of park enjoyment was from the nature vignette. Moreover, users of a certain substance had higher ratings of enjoyment when exposed to that same substance within a vignette.

Conclusions: Results from this study indicate policies that prohibit tobacco products, e-cigarettes, and marijuana from park grounds could maintain or enhance visitors' overall park enjoyment.