Smoking

By Patrick Basham and John Luik Tobacco users should be required to obtain a "smoker's license" to buy cigarettes. So argues the academic Simon Chapman in the journal PLOS Medicine. He envisions a "smart card" system that would allow the government to limit smokers' cigarette purchases and encourage them to quit. Licensing is the antitobacco movement's latest proposal to "denormalize" smoking - that is, to portray smoking as unacceptable and smokers as deviants. It confirms that public-health elites suffer from Mary Poppins Syndrome: They won't rest until we're all practically perfect in every way. This kind of paternalism assumes (incorrectly)

Cherry Hill Township's parks, playgrounds, and other public facilities will soon be smoke-free. The Township Council unanimously approved an ordinance Monday making it illegal to smoke on any public property, including the town hall, library, Department of Public Works, and township-owned trails, and at any of Cherry Hill's 52 parks and playgrounds. The ordinance will take effect in mid-December, followed by a 30-day education period. Full enforcement will begin in January. Violators will be subject to fines of up to $150 for a first offense, up to $300 for a second offense, and as much as $500 for subsequent offenses.

Cherry Hill Council has passed an ordinance banning smoking at parks, playgrounds and other public facilities. The new law was unanimously approved Monday night. Starting in January, smoking will be illegal on any public property, including the Town Hall, Public Library, Department of Public Work, township-owned trails and at any of Cherry Hill's 52 parks and playgrounds. The change takes effect in mid-December, followed by a 30-day education period. Full enforcement will begin in January.

The news that smoking rates in Philadelphia have fallen an impressive amount over the last few years offers new evidence that public-health initiatives to limit smoking aren't only about chasing away smokers who try to light up. With the city's overall smoking rate dropping nearly 15 percent since 2008, city health officials estimate that 40,000 adults have kicked a habit that still kills 440,000 Americans each year. The city's indoor smoke-free law - which paved the way for statewide restrictions in Pennsylvania - clearly played a major role in helping to change habits.

Cherry Hill is telling smokers it's time to get their butts off public property - inside and out. A proposed ordinance presented to the public Thursday - on the 37th annual Great American Smokeout - would ban smoking in parks, playgrounds, and other township-owned properties. It is similar to restrictions passed this year that prohibit smoking at outdoor areas owned by Camden County. So far, the county has issued warnings to about a dozen smokers instead of $25 fines ($50 for repeat offenses)

Smoking rates in Philadelphia have reached their lowest levels in recent history, city officials announced Thursday. Smoking among adults in the city has fallen by almost 15 percent since 2008, Health Commissioner Donald F. Schwarz said at an event marking the American Cancer Society's 37th annual Great American Smokeout. In Philadelphia, 40,000 adults have given up smoking since 2008, Schwarz said, attributing the drop to the city's Clean Indoor Air Law, a federal hike in the cigarette tax, and the "Get Healthy Philly" initiative.

Cherry Hill is telling smokers it's time to get their butts off public property - inside and out. A proposed ordinance unveiled to the public Thursday - on the 37th annual Great American Smoke-Out - would ban smoking in parks, on playgrounds and at other properties owned by the township. It is similar to restrictions passed earlier this year that prohibit smoking at outdoor areas owned by Camden County. So far, the county has issued warnings to about a dozen smokers, instead of a $25 fine, or $50 for a repeat offense.

Smoking rates in Philadelphia have reached their lowest levels in recent history, city officials announced Thursday. Smoking among adults in the city has fallen by almost 15 percent since 2008, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Donald F. Schwarz said at an event marking the American Cancer Society's 37th annual Great American Smokeout. Forty thousand adults in Philadelphia have given up smoking since 2008, Schwarz said, attributing the decline to the city's Clean Indoor Air Law, a federal increase in cigarette excise tax, and the "Get Healthy Philly" initiative.

They died in a puff of smoke. One brief, billowing, black cloud against the bluest sky was the only visible evidence that something awful and monumental had just happened in Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands that Tuesday morning 11 years ago. A photograph of that puff of smoke, hovering like a malevolent storm cloud over a peaceful landscape of red barns and green pastures, was taken by someone living a mile and a half away minutes after the crash....

A 70-year-old man died in a blaze this morning in the Somerton in Far Northeast Philadelphia, according to the city Fire Marshal's Office. Details were scarce. But the man was reportedly living in the basement of a red brick, single family house on the 300 block of Buxmont Street. The fire broke out around 8 a.m. Firefighters found smoke coming from the basement of the two-story house. The fire was placed under control at 8:27 a.m. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Fire Marshal's Office.