Letter: Smoke-free all the time

Three cheers to Brothers Bar and Grill and to Colleges Against Cancer. The DI reported on Nov. 17 that smoke-free bar night was a resounding success!

I was, however, disappointed that the DI did not mention the efforts of the CU Smokefree Alliance, which is working hard to make smoke-free bars and restaurants a reality throughout Champaign and Urbana. We are an all-volunteer, community-based group working to pass ordinances in our twin cities requiring all of our public places to be 100 percent smoke-free all of the time, not just one bar for one night once a year.

If you don't believe this can be a reality in the near future, just go to California, Florida, New York, Madison, Wis., or even Skokie or Wilmette right here in Illinois. It's happening all over and C-U should be part of the movement! For more information, please visit our Web site at www.cu-smokefree.org.

I also wanted to clear up a factual error based on 2004 data. The smoking rate in Champaign County is actually only 16 percent of the population - the lowest rate of any county in the state!

Scott Hays
University employee