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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Tobacco smoke is a major contributor to indoor
3air pollution, and breathing secondhand smoke is a cause of
4disease and death, including heart disease, stroke,
5respiratory disease, lung cancer, low birth-weight babies,
6sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), increased respiratory
7infections in children, asthma in children and adults, sinus
8cancer, and breast cancer in younger, premenopausal women; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The 2006 U.S. Surgeon General report, The Health
10Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke,
11estimated that exposure to secondhand smoke kills
12approximately 50,000 people in the United States annually,
13including approximately 2,000 in Illinois; there is no
14risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke; ventilation
15and other air cleaning technologies cannot completely control
16for exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke; smoke-free
17workplace policies are the only effective way to eliminate
18secondhand smoke exposure in the workplace, and evidence shows
19that smoke-free policies and laws do not have an adverse
20economic impact on the hospitality industry; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Public Health reported
22a 28.4 percent decline in the smoking rate after the Smoke Free
23Illinois Act (the Act) was enacted in 2008 in addition to a 4.1

 

 

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1percent and 1.4 percent decline in the mortality rate for
2heart disease and lung cancer, respectively; the number of
3callers to the Illinois Tobacco Quitline increased
4dramatically after the Act became law from 7,255 in 2006 to
524,575 in 2012; in 2011, 91 percent of adults reported no
6exposure to secondhand smoke in indoor public places, and 89%
7of Illinois adults believed policies not allowing tobacco use
8in indoor or outdoor public places should be strictly
9enforced; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia
11have passed comprehensive smoke-free laws to protect people
12against the harmful effects of secondhand smoke; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Aerosol from electronic cigarettes has a high
14concentration of heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and
15ultrafine particles; the particle concentration is higher than
16in conventional tobacco cigarette smoke; exposure to fine and
17ultrafine particles may exacerbate respiratory ailments like
18asthma and constrict arteries, which could trigger a heart
19attack; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends
21that electronic cigarettes not be used indoors, especially in
22smoke-free environments, in order to minimize the risk to
23bystanders of breathing in the aerosol emitted by the devices

 

 

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1and to avoid undermining the enforcement of smoke-free laws;
2and
 
3    WHEREAS, Secondhand smoke from combusted marijuana
4contains many of the same toxins, irritants, and carcinogens
5as tobacco smoke that can be breathed deeply into the lungs,
6which can cause lung irritation and asthma attacks and makes
7respiratory infections more likely; exposure to fine
8particulate matter can exacerbate health problems, especially
9for people with respiratory conditions like asthma,
10bronchitis, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; research
11has shown that secondhand marijuana smoke can do as much
12damage to the heart and blood vessels as secondhand tobacco
13smoke; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The American Society for Heating, Refrigeration,
15and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the standard setting
16body for the HVAC industry, affirms that mechanical solutions
17like ventilation cannot control for the health hazards of
18secondhand smoke, and its standard (62.1) for acceptable
19indoor air quality is based on an environment that is free from
20tobacco and marijuana smoke and secondhand aerosol from
21electronic cigarettes; therefore, be it
 
22    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
23ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF

 

 

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1REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we strive to protect
2and strengthen the Smoke Free Illinois Act and urge the
3Illinois Department of Public Health to provide a data brief
4by 2023 on the impact of the Act since 2013 to commemorate the
515th anniversary of the Act's enactment; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
7delivered to the Illinois Department of Public Health.