Posted: 1/14/05 Section: News

A gray haze floated above the front half of Murphy's Pub, where the air was filled with cigarette smoke. A loud roar of the televisions blaring ESPN, laughter and chatter filled the ears of nonsmoking students, who sat in the back half of the room lounged in booths to chat while they slowly inhaled the smoke from others' cigarettes.

"My grandpa was a frequent visitor of restaurants and bars that allowed smoking," said Sarah Brinkmeier, sophomore in applied life studies. "He died of lung cancer a couple years ago without ever smoking a cigarette himself."

Second-hand smoke is the third largest cause of preventable death in the United States, according to the Champaign County Tobacco Prevention Coalition. In efforts to save thousands of lives each year, cities, states and countries across the globe are adopting smoke-free ordinances to protect the health of non-smokers in public places.

The Champaign-Urbana (C-U) Smokefree Alliance would like Champaign and Urbana to adopt smoke free ordinances for all workplaces and public places, including restaurants and bars, in an attempt to prevent secondhand smoking related health issues.

"I compare smoking to target shooting," said Scott Hays, research scientist at the Center for Prevention Research and president of the C-U SmokeFree Alliance. "Target shooters don't practice their habit in a crowded place, because they realize their habit is fatal."

In 1989, Illinois adopted the Clean Indoor Air Act, which was passed only a few years after the Surgeon General and EPA released reports about the dangers of secondhand smoke. The legislation required that businesses set aside a non-smoking section, regardless of their size. But there could not be stricter regulations unless they were in a city that already had its own clean air ordinances, in which case the city can modify the ordinances. Champaign and Urbana are two of about 20 cities in Illinois who have such an opportunity.

Despite the health benefits and a petition - 3, 500 signatures strong - behind the smoke-free ordinance, Champaign and Urbana city councils are hesitant to pass it.

Vic McIntosh, Champaign City Council member, said there are already restaurants in Champaign and Urbana that are smoke-free by choice.

"If restaurants allow smoking, people who don't like it can choose not to go there," McIntosh said. "I don't think government has a role in legislating the choices of the business owners. They have the right to decide whether to be smoke-free just like they have the right to decide what food they serve or how they decorate."

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