by Gerardine Baugh

Created on: November 01, 2008

When I read this question I sat back and wondered; why wouldn't the Sangamon County Health Department be enforcing the ban. Are they finding it to hard, to hand out citations to smokers? Are they afraid of confrontation?

When my son was a little boy, he had allergies. Not, the type that made him wheeze, sneeze, or covered him with hives. He became very ill. Bronchial pneumonia was his reaction to cigarette smoke. I became the mother that would, insanely, speak my mind when I an adult lit up around my child, or any child.

How dare, I!

I was told that their habit was their own business. What they didn't understand was any addiction that spills over onto others, is a problem.

How can we get away from a smoker sitting behind us in a restaurant? By passing laws, then having the appropriate, official (the one getting paid to do a job) such as the Sangamon County Health Department; write out citations to businesses that won't comply with the law.

Rules that were set in place need to be implemented.

Those laws were made to protect the people; as written out by the, "Illinois General Assembly."

"Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that tobacco smoke is a harmful and dangerous carcinogen to human beings and a hazard to public health"

"Section 1. Short title. This Act maybe cited as the Smoke Free Illinois Act."

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/full text.asp?Name=095-0017

Check out the complete law, follow the above link.

Cigarette smoke doesn't just cause cancer. In 2006 there were 26,932 deaths due to diseases of heart. Don't believe me, check out the web site.

"Illinois Department of Public Health"

http://www.idph.state.il.us/health/statshome. htm http://www.idph.state.il.us/health/bdmd/leadingdeath s06.htm

I had a friend that would say, "We all gotta die of something."

I asked him, "Why did he have the right to choose how the person sitting next to him, spent their last days?" He didn't have an answer.

This isn't a debate on whether to pass a law against smoking; it is a law

Shouldn't the Sagamom County Health Department be enforcing the state's indoor smoking ban? Yes they should be! Why make a law to protect all the people, if those laws can be ignored by the very people that are being paid to enforce them!

This was part of the article, "Smoking ban not being enforced" written by Bruce Rushton of THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER/Posted Oct 19, 2008 @ 11:05 PM

The person that is commenting is, Jim Stone, health department director.

"There are speed limits out there, and I'm sure people are speeding," Stone said when asked whether he thinks people are smoking in bars. "I'm confident there are a lot of laws we have on the books that are not being followed."

"First of all, it's a cost issue," said Stone, who wouldn't rule out a sting in the future. "You're sending out someone after hours."

Wouldn't the Sangamon County Health Department benefit by handing out tickets? There would be an increased in Revenue. Doesn't everyone like extra money? I know I do. If the Health Department passed out citations eventually the smoking would stop.

Why take away a persons right to breathe clean airWell, sort of clean air. If we want to stop pollution, we need to take baby steps, to clean up indoor as well as outdoor air. Banning smoking in public places was one of those steps. Now we need to have specific departments enforce that law by handing out citations. You know, maybe like the Sangamon County Health Department. It could work, but only if they do.

Learn more about this author, Gerardine Baugh.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.