JAVETTE ORGAIN, MD
First Vice President
Illinois Academy of Family Physicians
Chair, Illinois State Board of Health

Support for a Smoke-free Illinois
March 8, 2007  

Press contact:  Ginnie Flynn (630-263-4613 Cell) gflynn@iafp.com

The U.S. Surgeon General’s June 2006 report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, compiles the scientific evidence that secondhand smoke causes serious diseases, including lung cancer, heart disease and respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and asthma. 

 Because of this report, we now have the final word on secondhand smoke:

-It’s deadly
-There is no safe amount of exposure
-The only way to eliminate the risk is to completely eliminate the smoke.
The evidence is overwhelming.  

Consider the costs of secondhand smoke:

-In Illinois , 8 people die from exposure to secondhand smoke every day

-1.5 million Illinoisans suffer from asthma and 2.5 million Illinoisans
have lung and respiratory problems.  Secondhand smoke is the #1 trigger for asthma attacks.

-Research shows that workers exposed to secondhand smoke on a daily
basis are 20–30 percent more likely to develop cancer than other workers.

-Working one eight-hour shift in a smoky workplace is equivalent to
smoking 16 cigarettes.

These proven health consequences affect our families, our friends, and our workforce every day.  Non-smokers are paying the price with their health. These preventable illnesses also add up in higher public and private health care costs for everyone.   And yet – Illinois still allows thousands of service workers to suffer in silence while working under a cloud of smoke.

As a family physician, a leader in Illinois Public Health and an advocate, I urge the General Assembly to make Illinois the next smoke-free state.

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