Go Smoke-Free

Help Your Community Go Smoke-Free

Help Your Organization Go Smoke-Free

Help Your Community Go Smoke-Free
As of October 2006, ten Lake County communities have passed laws making all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, smoke-free. These communities include: Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Hawthorn Woods, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Lindenhurst, Long Grove and Vernon Hills.

More and more municipalities have recognized the health hazard of secondhand smoke, and are passing smoke-free ordinances to protect all of those who live, work, and play in their communities.  The results have been effective in not only reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, but also in increasing the number of people who quit and in discouraging youth from starting to smoke.  In the cities of Pueblo, Colorado, and Helena, Montana, researchers even found that a smoke-free ordinance helped reduce the number of hospital admissions from heart attack 30-40 percent.

Although local elected officials are the ones with the power to vote for and enact a smoke-free ordinance, getting a town or city to go smoke-free relies greatly on community residents.  

Residents in Deerfield got together and formed a coalition known as Smoke-Free Deerfield.  They helped educate their trustees on topics such as the dangers of secondhand smoke, the ventilation myth, economic impact of smoke-free policies, and most importantly, that most people are in favor of smoke-free legislation.  They collected almost 200 postcards from residents expressing their support, and helped coordinate speakers at the trustee meeting.

Contacting  or organizing a coalition like this in your town would be an ideal way to help your community go smoke-free.  You can also join Partners for Tobacco Free Lake County.  Member organizations, such as the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, and the Tobacco Free Lake County program at the local health department, are great resources, and with teamwork, they make the somewhat daunting process of helping a community go smoke-free much simpler.  The founders of Smoke-Free Deerfield started as members of this coalition.  

To join Partners for Tobacco Free Lake County, or for more information, contact Tobacco Free Lake County at (847) 377-8090 or tflc@co.lake.il.us.  

More resources that can help your community go smoke-free are available at the following websites:

Smoke-Free Communities Toolkit - www.co.lake.il.us/health/chs/tobaccofree and then click "Go Smoke-free"

Americans for Non-smokers' Rights - www.no-smoke.org

Smoke Free Illinois - www.smokefreeillinois.org 

Help Your Organization Go Smoke-Free

Abbott Laboratories, Walgreens Corporate Offices, and the Buffalo Grove Park District all have smoke-free buildings and campuses.  In addition, many other organizations in Lake County are recognizing the danger of secondhand smoke to their employees and visitors, and are responding with smoke-free policies.

Health issues provide ample justification for smoke-free policies, but there are other good business reasons as well.  Smoke-free work environments can reduce costs for cleaning and maintaining facilities and equipment, decrease absenteeism, lower health insurance costs and claims, and improve employee morale.

Many member organizations of Partners for Tobacco Free Lake County have smoke-free buildings or campuses, such as Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, College of Lake County, Lake Forest Hospital, Rosalind Franklin Medical University, Vista Health, and the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center.  Representatives from these organizations can guide your organization or business through the process of implementing a smoke-free policy, and help employers provide a smooth transition.

Employers interested in pursuing a smoke-free policy can connect with these great resources by joining Partners for Tobacco Free Lake County. 

To join Partners for Tobacco Free Lake County, or for more information on helping your organization go smoke-free, contact Tobacco Free Lake County at (847) 377-8090 or tflc@co.lake.il.us.