HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESOLUTIONS-2006-014-R-06•
2/21 /2006
14-R-06
A RESOLUTION
of the City Council of the City of Evanston
Expressing Support to House Bill 4338 Known as the
"Indoor Clean Air Expanded Smoking Ban" (HB 4338), as Amended,
Urging the Illinois House of Representatives to Support HB 4338, and
Vote in Favor of HB 4338, and Directing that this Resolution
be Forwarded to the Illinois General Assembly, Other Members of
Illinois Government as Deemed Appropriate, and Providing an
Effective Date.
WHEREAS, on December 30, 2005, Representative Annazette Collins
introduced the Indoor Clean Air Expanded Smoking Ban (HB 4338); and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Evanston, Illinois supports the
• passage of HB 4338 because:
a) The bill would insure that no one is exposed to deadly cancer causing
chemicals in the air we breathe;
b) The current law is weak and outdated not protecting the health of all workers;
c) The bill would make all workplaces smoke free including bars and
restaurants;
d) Secondhand smoke kills an estimated sixty-five thousand (65,000) people in
the United States annually;
e) In 2005, throughout the State of Illinois, about two thousand nine hundred
(2,900) people, or about eight (8) people each day, will die from exposure to
secondhand smoke;
f) It is estimated that one (1) non-smoker dies from exposure to secondhand
smoke for every eight (8) smokers who die from their tobacco use;
g) Secondhand smoke contains more than sixty-nine (69) known carcinogens,
including cyanide, arsenic, methane and formaldehyde;
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h) Workers exposed to secondhand smoke are twenty percent (20%) to thirty
percent (30%) more likely to develop cancer; 0
i) Restaurant workers in particular are exposed to twice the amount of
secondhand smoke than other workers. One eight -hour shift in a smoky workplace
is the equivalent of smoking sixteen (16) cigarettes;
j) Non-smoking sections do not eliminate non-smokers' exposure to
secondhand smoke; smoke knows no boundaries;
k) Smoke -free bars and restaurants (with no smoking in attached bars) have
ninety percent (90%) less indoor air pollution than restaurants and bars in cities
without smoke -free requirements;
1) Smoke -free restaurants with smoking in attached bars have nearly fifty
percent (50%) more air pollution than those with smoke -free bars;
m) Average cotinine levels (metabolized nicotine) of New York restaurant and
bar workers decreased by eighty-five percent (85%) after the city's smoke free law
went into effect; and
n) Air pollution decreased by ninety-three percent (93%) in Massachusetts
restaurants and bars following the implementation of a statewide smoke -free law. •
WHEREAS, the City Council does not agree with the provision in HB 4338
that any public place may have a smoking area if it is equipped with devices to render the
exposure to secondhand smoke in the area equivalent to exposure to secondhand smoke
in the ambient air surrounding the public place; and
WHEREAS, the City Council believes that effective State legislation on indoor
clean air is preferable to amending the City Code in order to consolidate and clarify any
inconsistent municipal ordinances; and
WHEREAS, for these reasons, the City Council finds that it should support
HB 4338, as amended, and urges the Illinois House of Representatives and other
members of the Illinois General Assembly to support HB 4338; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that this Resolution should be forwarded to
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• the Illinois House of Representatives and other members of the Illinois General Assembly
as deemed appropriate.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF EVANSTON, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS:
SECTION 1: That the reasons stated above, the City Council of the City of
Evanston, Illinois, declares its support of HB 4338 and urges the Illinois House of
Representatives and all other members of the Illinois General Assembly to support HB
4338.
SECTION 2: That the City Council hereby directs that this Resolution. be
forwarded immediately to the Illinois House of Representatives and other members of the
Illinois General Assembly as deemed appropriate.
0 SECTION 3: That this Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and
after the date of its passage and approval in the manner required by law.
Lori aine H. Morton, Mayor
ATTEST:
Mary . Io �s, ity Clerk
Adopted: �Q-Q�►"� a-7 , 2006
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