Cherry Hill Officials Tout Tobacco Ban's Benefits

A week after taking the first steps toward a ban on using any tobacco products on public property in Cherry Hill, township officials used the 37th annual Great American Smokeout to highlight the plan to get residents to butt out.

With a backdrop of the playground at DeCou Park, Mayor Chuck Cahn and others—including students from Cherry Hill East’s East Students Against Tobacco group, which donated $1,000 toward no smoking signs—detailed the goals of the ban and its benefits for residents who frequent the township’s 52 parks and numerous public buildings and open spaces.

“It’s not just about secondhand smoke, it’s about creating smoke-free zones,” Cahn said. “My hope is that Cherry Hill will set an example for other organizations and other towns.”

Township officials are already taking a major step by crafting the ordinance as they have and making it a total ban on both smoking and tobacco on public property, said said Kim Burns, coordinator for Tobacco Free for a Healthy New Jersey.

“This really is the most comprehensive one out there,” she said, calling the ordinance a model for the entire state.

And by pushing a public ban, Burns said the township will help shape future generations and send the message that smoking—or using any form of tobacco—is abnormal behavior.

“We want our kids to live in a world where smoking is not the norm,” she said.

Shifting the tide is even more important in Camden County, where lung cancer rates run above the state average, said Jackie Craig, community mission manager for the American Cancer Society.

“It’s significantly more,” she said.

Significant to the tune of 14 more incidents per 100,000 residents for men and nearly 22 more for women, and a corresponding spike in the mortality rate.

The danger is obvious, and Cahn said that made the decision to enact the ban that much easier.

“This is about protecting our children,” he said. “Cherry Hill residents deserve to breathe clean air.”

The ban via ordinance also comes with teeth, something the township’s 2005 resolution banning smoking didn’t have. Violators could face fines up to $150 for a first offense, with penalties escalating from there.

“If we’re going to be serious about smoke-free zones, we should be serious about the penalty, as well,” Cahn said.

The ordinance, which passed unanimously on first reading, is up for a public hearing and final vote at the township council’s next meeting, at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 26 at the township municipal building.

Should it pass on second reading, there would be a 20-day period before it becomes law, and a 30-day educational period before the ban would be enforced in earnest, starting roughly in mid-January.