[C-U Smokefree] It is imperative that Champaign adopt a Smoke-Free Ordinance RIGHT NOW!

[George Carlisle]

Dear City Council Member:

It is imperative that Champaign adopt a smoke-free ordinance right now!  We have waited long enough!  People like Cheri Manrique have suffered from the effects of environmental second-hand smoke. She would like to play her guitars in bars, etc., and also go hear other play jazz and other music in such places. But she cannot go there because she is unable to cope with the smoke. It aggravates her asthma symptoms.  She said, in a  recent letter to the News-Gazette, that she could not even tolerate the fumes from electronic equipment in the Best Buy store.

Other people in the Smokefree Coalition are also sensitive to tobacco smoke and are very much looking forward to the day when they,a and all the rest of us, will no longer have to put up with the foul, acrid smoke of cigarettes in our cities.

If Bloomington AND Normal can pass a smoke-free ordinance, why cannot Champaign-Urbana do the same?

We need help.

I believe Urbana would be in favor and I hope it passes in Urbana, but they are waiting to see what Champaign does. Otherwise, they fear a loss of business to bars in Champaign if smoking were still permitted there.
Therefore, ti is critical that Champaign pass the ordinance at the May 16 meeting.  We cannot afford to allow this stalemate to go on any longer.

Even when places designate a smoke-free day, the air still reeks of smoke absorbed by the walls, furnishings, and ventilation systems. This will not work. We have to prohibit smoking inside public places all the time. Perhaps we can designate certain outdoor areas where smoking is permitted.

Moreover, the litter problem of cigarette packages and butts is worsening, especially on campus. Students complain about high cost of textbooks, yet somehow can find a way to pay for cigarettes.  I would support a local tax increase for cigarettes if some other local taxes, such as Home Rule Sales Tax and Food and Beverage Tax were rolled back.  I am trying to recover those extra taxes by picking up aluminum cans and "Feeding the Golden Goat."  

There are so many people adversely affected by secondhand smoke that we simply cannot any longer further delay passage of an anti-smoking ordinance.  The time  has come! PLEASE vote in favor of a smoke free Ordinance in Champaign. I know then that Urbana will follow suit.  Everyone deserves clean indoor air.  We need you help now!

George R. Carlisle
406 East Green, #102
Urbana, IL  61802

217-367-2506

carlisle at soltec.net