Smoke Free Illinois Act: Difference between revisions

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Smoking Ban Background

According the American Cancer Society, smoking causes almost 1 in 5 deaths in the United States. “Because cigarette smoking and tobacco use are acquired behaviors -- activities that people choose to do -- smoking is the most preventable cause of premature death in our society.” What many smokers ignore is what effect their smoking has on the population around them.

Organizations such as The American Cancer Society [1], Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[2], US Department of Health and Human Services [3], and the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago [4], have the responsibility of protecting the health of all Americans. With this in mind, these and other organizations communicated with the State of Illinois lawmakers, and encouraged them to create a non-smoking ban in the state of Illinois.

The Illinois General Assembly put the Smoke-Free Illinois Act [5] into effect beginning January 1, 2008.

Smoke-Free Illinois – General Information

Per Damon T. Arnold, M.D., M.P.H Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, "The Smoke-free Illinois Website [6] is designed to provide a variety of informational resources. I encourage you to read the information contained here to become more informed about the Smoke-free Illinois law, to access information about secondhand smoke, to seek assistance to quit smoking or to lodge a complaint about a possible violation."

Banned Smoking Locations in Illinois

As of January 1, 2008, the Smoke-Free Illinois Act [7] requires that public places and places of employment must be completely smoke-free inside and within 15 feet from entrances, exits, windows that open and ventilation intakes. This includes but is not limited to:

Public places and buildings, offices, elevators, restrooms, theaters, museums, libraries, educational institutions, schools, commercial establishments, enclosed shopping centers and retail stores
Restaurants, bars, taverns and gaming facilities
Lobbies, reception areas, hallways, meeting rooms, waiting rooms, break rooms and other common-use areas
Concert halls, auditoriums, enclosed or partially enclosed sports arenas, bowling alleys, skating rinks, convention facilities, polling places and private clubs
Hospitals, health care facilities, health care clinics, child care, adult care or other similar social service care
No less than 75 percent of hotel or motel sleeping quarters rented to guests
Public conveyances, government-owned vehicles and vehicles open to the public

Some Health Departments Choose to Work With Local Businesses

As of February 5, 2008, Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, and Fulton counties’ Health Departments have not fined any businesses for violations of the smoking ban yet. Instead, they are trying to work with the businesses in order to educate them about the law. The director of health promotion, Brian Tun, at the Peoria County Health Department, estimated that about forty complaints had been made in the Peoria County area already. If they don’t send someone to investigate, they will send a letter to remind the business to comply with the law. He also said that a second warning letter has not been necessary to send out yet. The Health Department officials are undecided on how to handle additional violations after the second warning, if they are to go beyond the state’s minimums. Sara Sparkman is the Tazewell County Health Department’s Community Relations Manager. She said that they have received seventeen complaints from nine separate locations. Violations include an informative letter for a first violation, a warning letter for a second violation, a meeting with the owner for a third violation, and probably fines after that. [8]

Several Business Owners Jump Through “Loops” For Smokers

Many business owners seem to have found a loophole in the non-smoking laws. A January 29th article from the Chicago Tribune [9] stated that for a minimum of $5,000, a business could install a smoking hut, or shack [10] outside their establishment. Since the state and city regulations haven’t been formed as of yet, owners are installing these for their employees as well as their customers. Many bar owners are even going as far as to install TVs in their huts so that their patrons won’t miss out on any games while they smoke and stay warm. Click the link and see a photo by Terry Harris/January 24, 2008, of the Chicago Tribune, which documents how these structures have been erected. [11]

Smoke-free Hospitals Are Helping Some Hospital Employees Quit Smoking

From 1993 to 1996, the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine decided to run an experiment, partially funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)[12], which has a national program known as the Tobacco Policy Research and Evaluation Program. The researchers were on a quest to find out if the new smoke-free restrictions put on hospitals would hinder or help the facility’s employees. Notable results were found that included hospital compliance to the new laws, employees who were under this ban were more likely to quit, and smokers under pressure from fellow employees to follow the rules were more apt to stop smoking as well.

Cities Want to Keep the Money From Fines

Plainfield passed a local law to keep the fines from the smoking ban violations this month, instead of sharing them with the state. Joan Myers, a village attorney, said that the town only receives fifteen dollars from a one-hundred and fifty dollar fine, and the rest goes towards court costs. According to Jeff Jurgens, an attorney with Ancel-Glick, localizing this law is entering uncharted territory. He then said that his firm represents over 20, Illinois municipalities on the matter. Jurgens went on to say, “In most communities, it’s going to be the local police department that will incur the expense of enforcing the law.” “So I think it makes sense that the community keep whatever income it generates.” [13]

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 ==Smoking Ban Background==
-According the American Cancer Society [http://www.cancer.org], smoking causes almost 1 in 5 deaths in the United States.  “Because cigarette smoking and tobacco use are acquired behaviors -- activities that people choose to do -- smoking is the most preventable cause of premature death in our society.”
+According the American Cancer Society, smoking causes almost 1 in 5 deaths in the United States.  “Because cigarette smoking and tobacco use are acquired behaviors -- activities that people choose to do -- smoking is the most preventable cause of premature death in our society.”
 What many smokers ignore is what effect their smoking has on the population around them.