Free Republic

There are smoke-free offices, smoke-free bars, smoke-free malls. Could smoke-free apartment houses and condo towers be next? Scattered apartment units across the state already ban smoking. But early next year, the Department of Public Health plans to survey landlords, condominium associations, and tenants about the feasibility of making smoke-free residential zones the norm, rather than the exception. There could even be a state-run registry to connect tenants with landlords and condo boards that offer developments entirely devoid of smoke. The state review emerges as an influential coalition of health and housing officials is issuing a sweeping call to make smoke-free...

LONDON - The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) has said that young people are unaware of the fact that smoking could lead to blindness. The charity says that if the government were to fund a national campaign, then young people could give up smoking. For evidence, it cites an article in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, which found that the fear of blindness was more of a deterrent than anything else. The study surveyed around 250 clubbers in Winchester, Manchester and Southampton. All responders were aged between 16 to 18 years. On a scale of 5, most rated...