 |
|
|
|
|
| 3/19/2007 2:24:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Smoking ban makes progress in county board
By RANDY HARRISON
Daily News
Crawford County is moving closer to banning smoking in public places.
The Crawford County Board Thursday continued discussion with local residents who both support and oppose the proposal. An ordinance has been drawn up, but the matter is on hold while the Crawford County Health Department - which under state law would be in charge of enforcement - learns how other health departments handle the matter.
A group led by Jace Phillips first asked the board to consider enacting a countywide smoking ban in August. The request came after a new state law took effect giving the board authority to ban smoking in public places and businesses in unincorporated sections of the county.
Businesses in incorporated communities such as Robinson would not be affected, but the group hopes local municipalities will enact their own bans if the county does. Phillips and the others also hope it will be a show of support for bills under consideration in the state House and Senate that would ban smoking from all public places statewide.
Phillips and others in the group are Robinson Correctional Center employees. A county ban would not affect the prison, but a state ban would.
Phillips said it is unfair to force nonsmokers to work in smoke-filled environments at the risk of their lives. "They are told, 'you just have to suck it up or find another job.' That's not fair," he said.
Phillips pointed out the prison has designated smoking areas, but that the rules are not strongly enforced. Even if they were, it might not matter; air currents cause smoke to drift unseen throughout the housing units.
Board member Donald Richart agreed. He said he has gotten so used to the smoke he no longer notices it. When he gets home, however, he sometimes has to leave his uniform in the garage because of the odor.
Twenty-eight states have banned smoking in prison and most Illinois county jails - including the Crawford County Jail and all Cook County lock-ups - are smoke-free. Phillips pointed out many inmates who are in county jails long enough actually kick the habit - only to become hooked again when exposed to smoke in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities.
Board member Charlie Rains said his mother-in-law - a nonsmoker - died of lung cancer apparently brought on by secondhand smoke. However, he pointed out he has heard complaints about the proposal. "They say a lot of people fought and died for this country and now they're trying to take away our rights," he reported.
"Don't I have the right to breathe clean air?" a woman in the audience asked. "Not at work, I don't."
Phillips said no one wants to deny a person the right to smoke.
"All we're saying is, smoke away from people," he explained. "You can go eight hours without smoking. Then you can go home and smoke all night if you want. You can smoke in your car."
Carl Heldebrandt said it's unfair his young daughters can not go out to eat or bowling without becoming covered with cigarette smoke. He and Phillips both likened exposure to secondhand smoke to assault.
"Tobacco and nicotine are proven addictive drugs," Heldebrandt said, urging the board to approve the ban. "Please, please do the right thing."
American Cancer Society Health Initiatives Manager Angela Wenthe called the proposed ordinance "a wonderful thing." She was present to provide some statistics on secondhand smoke and its effects on health.
Wenthe said the society does all it can to inform the public about the dangers of secondhand smoke and promote efforts to limit exposure.
"It was very important to me to be there to show my support for this," she said. "It's what the American Cancer Society does and it's what we're about."
She added a ban, if adopted, will allow a reduction in both the number of cancer cases here and the number of deaths caused by cancer.
According to the ACS, between 1999 and 2003, Crawford County had a higher cancer incidence rate than the state average. A survey indicated the county was also above average for the percentage of adults 18 and older who smoked.
During that four-year period, 616 cases of cancer were reported here, including 78 cases of lung and bronchial cancer. There were 250 cancer-related deaths, including 62 from lung and bronchial cancer.
Smoking and secondhand smoke are most closely associated with lung cancer, but it can cause other forms of cancer, as well, Wenthe said. "When you look at cancer in general, smoking is one of the main lifestyle habits that can be cut out to decrease odds of contracting many, many different kinds of cancer."
Smoking has an impact on breast, liver and pancreatic cancer, as well as other forms. Secondhand smoke also aggravates asthma in children and can be connected to other ailments, including ear infections.
Wenthe pointed out several other states have already enacted statewide smoking bans. Those states have seen cancer deaths drop by as much as 12 percent. It will probably be 2008 before the impact of bans in other parts of Illinois will be known.
In June, a U.S. Surgeon General's report declared there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke and that even brief exposure can cause immediate harm.
Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke and home or work increase their risk of lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent and heart disease by 25 to 30 percent.
About 3,000 nonsmokers die of lung cancer annually because of exposure to secondhand smoke, the ACS reports. An estimated 35,000 people who are not current smokers die of heart disease each year because of such exposure.
|
Article Comment Submission Form
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
