One call from you can help us protect Illinois' Smokefree Law!

Publication Date: 2010-12-02

Our friends in Illinois need our help today.

Their statewide smokefree law is under attack. House Bill 1850 would weaken the state smokefree law bringing smoke back to Illinois' casinos. Opening the door to a rollback of this extent could lead to more exemptions in other workplaces. We must stop this bill dead in its tracks.

During a recent interview, HB1850 sponsor Representative Thapedi asked for public comment. So let's give him public comment. He needs to hear from each one of us, whether we live in Illinois or not! We’re calling out all the stops to flood his office with calls and emails.

Please make a call to Representative Thapedi. It’s easy! Here's how.

1. Call Representative Thapedi (pronounced Tapetti), at 773-873-4444 (Chicago office) or 217-782-1702 (Springfield office). They will ask for your name & address. Even if you are calling from out-of-state, your voice counts because this involves casinos frequented by visitors and out-of-state tourists. If you DO live in Illinois, be sure to call your own Representative as well.

2. Tell him you support 100% SMOKEFREE casinos in Illinois and you OPPOSE House Bill 1850. See sample talking points below.

3. You can also send Representative Thapedi an email at rep32district@gmail.com.

Thank you for doing your part to help our Illinois friends. What happens there may impact the rest of the country, including where we all live and work.

Thank you & happy holidays!

SAMPLE TALKING POINTS

1. Everyone deserves the right to breathe smokefree air. I oppose bringing back smoking in any areas of Illinois casinos. 600,000 people are dying globally every year just from secondhand smoke exposure. (2010 CDC report)

(Note: If you have a short personal story of living with secondhand smoke, working in secondhand smoke, please share that too!)

2. This law is in place to protect all workers, including Illinois’ casino workers. Don't they have a right to breathe clean air? Are their lungs any less valuable than other workers? This is a social justice issue.

3. This is not a local issue because casinos are part of the tourism industry.

4. Every industry is being impacted by the downturn in the economy. Bringing smoking back to casinos will not increase revenue, it will only mean more workers and patrons becoming sick or dying as a result of secondhand smoke exposure.

5. Ventilation is not a solution. No ventilation technology exists today that can rid the air of the toxins and carcinogens in cigarette smoke. Period. The American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the U.S. Surgeon General and every major health organization in the world agrees on this point. Ventilation simply does not solve the problem.

6. I strongly oppose exposing the public or the employees to toxic secondhand smoke. Another casino employee just died at age 62 from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke. Her name was Cheryl Rose and she worked in a Las Vegas casino. She died in Illinois earlier this year.

For more information specific to smokefree casinos, please visit our website.