Mayor Nutter talked about one of his Christmas wishes yesterday – reducing smoking rates in Philadelphia.Just in time for the holiday weekend, Nutter signed into law legislation that hikes the fines for merchants who sell tobacco products to minors.”We cannot allow our children to become the next generation of addicts,” Nutter said. “Smoking is not cool at all.”The new law, approved by City Council several weeks ago, would raise the penalty for selling tobacco to minors from $100 to $250 per incident. City officials hope the stiffer fine will cut back on youth smoking, which ranks high in Philadelphia compared with the nation’s other big cities.

TIVOLI — Going to Memorial Park in this Northern Dutchess village has become a smoke-free experience.Village officials have banned the use of tobacco products throughout the park, including at the ball field and in the pavilion.“Kids should not be playing and inhaling cigarette smoke,” said Village Board member Bryan Cranna, who sponsored the resolution instituting the ban. “We’re hoping this is going to be a step toward creating a healthier and cleaner play environment for the kids.”

Finns appear willing to favour increases in taxation on alcohol, tobacco, confectionery and capital gains in order to balance public finances, a survey commissioned by YLE indicates. However, there is little enthusiasm for higher income or energy taxes.The pollster asked over 1,000 Finns just before Christmas what taxes could be raised to balance public finances.
Some 61 percent of those asked say they were ready to accept an increase on taxation on alcohol and tobacco products.

San Andreas, CA – Tobacco products will soon be banned on the campus of Mark Twain St. Joseph’s Hospital.Starting on February 1st, smoking and the use of any tobacco product will no longer be permitted anywhere on the campus grounds, including buildings, parking lots, and walkways. The policy will apply to everyone, including patients, doctors, visitors, volunteers and employees.

About a half century ago, a familiar advertisement on television reported that more doctors favored a certain brand of cigarette more than any other.That was a few years before the U.S. surgeon general’s report in the 1960s that cigarette smoking could be harmful to one’s health, and the ad was no longer popular or effective.In recent years, hospitals and medical facilities and those who practice in them have proudly led the fight against smoking and use of any tobacco products.

When you think of the hazards of smoking, lung cancer or emphysema typically come to mind. The truth is that smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and takes a particularly hard toll on the heart.How smoking hurts. When you smoke, the toxic ingredients in cigarettes damage your body in several ways — mutating genes, weakening blood vessels, altering blood consistency and diminishing cell function. For example, nicotine speeds heart rate, narrows arteries and makes blood sticky. Other chemicals in cigarettes bind to the hemoglobin in red blood cells, reducing their ability to carry oxygen. Smoking deteriorates artery linings and promotes fat and plaque deposits. As a result, smoking causes: