Left to right: Molly Dies, Laura Courson, Alexa Ager, Emily Ickert, and Scottlyn Barr. Members of Molly Dies’ Dance Express Company are pictured displaying the smoke-free signs. These dancers are part of the Intensive Program, MDDE, at Linda Dies’ Dance Unlimited. They dance seven hours per week and train year round to compete around the area and afar.

Young lungs at play — and practice.

Linda Dies’ Dance Unlimited is the newest location to become a member of the Young Lungs at Play initiative. The program is an effort on the part of Adagio Health and the Northwest Pennsylvania Tobacco Control Program (NWPA TCP) to make public parks, playing fields, and outdoor areas tobacco free.

The tobacco-free parks and playgrounds initiative is free to join for Warren County organizations, schools, and municipalities, said Claire Coffin, Regional Tobacco Health Educator at Adagio Health.

Any county entity looking to join the initiative by posting Young Lungs at Play signage on their property can contact Claire Coffin at (814) 706-9948 or ccoffin@adagiohealth.org, or by visiting ecdh.org.

The Young Lungs at Play program is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and administered locally by Adagio Health in partnership with NWPA TCP.

“We value all of our children in the community and want to provide them with a safe environment where they can interact with family and friends without the harmful effects of secondhand smoke,” said Molly Dies of Linda Dies’ Dance Unlimited. “Children need to be protected from secondhand smoke and given every opportunity to grow up healthy and that means tobacco-free spaces to play and exercise.”

The Young Lungs at Play program has been proven successful in other parts of Pennsylvania as well as nationally, said Coffin, who added that it helps protect the environment and the health of all Warren County residents.