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Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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Editorial: Philadelphia City Council Saves Lives by Passing Smoking Ban [06/19-3]
Excerpts from: Editorial | The Smoking Ban
Philadelphia Inquirer [06/17/06]
Maybe once in a lifetime, Philadelphia elected officials get to save lives,
polish the city's national image and save fellow citizens a bundle on
dry-cleaning bills - all at the same time.
City Council's approval on Thursday of a history-making ban on smoking in almost all workplaces, including restaurants and most bars, qualifies as that rare event.
And what an achievement it was for the 9-6 majority on Council led by Councilman Michael A. Nutter.
Council colleagues Darrell L. Clarke, Frank DiCicco, W. Wilson Goode Jr., James F. Kenney, Donna Reed Miller, Juan F. Ramos, Blondell Reynolds Brown and Marian B. Tasco deserve praise for this vote.
One more official needs to add his name to that honor roll: Mayor Street. Getting the mayor's signature on the smoke-free measure - as well as a companion bill waiving rules for shot-and-beer joints - would seem to be a slam-dunk, given Street's outspoken support for clearing the air in city workplaces.
The ban on indoor smoking, which starts in January, will spare thousands of food-service workers daily exposure to the death-dealing effects of secondhand smoke. At a minimum, they won't have to head home from work each day reeking of tobacco - and reaching for the Febreze.
The impact on city nightlife and tourist trade should be just as dramatic, judging by the economic lift seen in other cities that have gone smoke-free. The near-total smoking ban gives Philadelphia boosters yet another selling point in marketing the city as a vibrant place to visit, conduct business and settle.
Council's surprise vote on smoke-free legislation that earlier seemed moribund after repeated failed efforts was remarkable. It turns out that pushing for the smoking ban was a habit that some Council leaders simply couldn't kick, and Philadelphians are the winners.
The city's decision to go smoke-free also bolsters smoke-free efforts in neighboring communities in South Jersey and Delaware. It's no longer a question of patrons fleeing a smoke-free area to light up in another jurisdiction.
Philadelphia's progressive move holds a lesson for the Pennsylvania suburbs. County officials should be drawing up smoke-free proposals - that is, unless they're content for their communities to remain backwaters.
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