Statement by Craig A. Backs, M.D.
President, Illinois State Medical Society
Good morning. I’m Doctor Craig Backs, president of the Illinois State Medical Society, and a practicing internist here in Springfield. On behalf of the 14,000 Illinois doctors we represent, I’d like to thank Representative Collins for inviting me here today to show our strong support for House Bill 4338 … and the efforts to make Illinois 100 percent smoke-free. In my role as ISMS president, I travel this state, talking about ways to improve the health of all Illinoisans. Passage of this legislation will contribute greatly to that goal.
ISMS vigorously discourages smoking, and we’ve done so for as long as I can remember. Tobacco is a major, proven health hazard … for smokers … but also for non-smokers subjected to secondhand smoke. However, secondhand smoke is an insidious by product, and a vastly under-rated danger of tobacco. It infringes on all of our collective and individual air space … it
silently compromises our core health … and in the worst cases … it causes disease and death.
As a physician, I have seen too many patients suffer from the debilitating effects of smoking … and too many non-smokers forced to cope with the medical consequences of secondhand smoke exposure.
The statistics continue to speak for themselves.
Every day, eight people in Illinois die from the effects of secondhand smoke. In addition, children who are exposed to secondhand smoke have higher rates of respiratory infections and increased number and severity of asthma attacks.
Unless we make Illinois completely smoke-free, a large number of Illinoisans remain at risk for various health-related difficulties such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and chronic lung ailments.
ISMS applauds the efforts of the Chicago and Springfield City Councils in passing comprehensive smoking bans. All the citizens of Illinois deserve that very same right to breathe clean air, which is why we speak today strongly in support of the passage of HB 4338.
The Illinois State Medical Society is proud to join the others here today in urging the General Assembly to enact this important bill and, by doing so, to protect the health of the citizens of this state.
Thank you.
Twenty North Michigan Avenue, Suite 700 Chicago, Illinois 60602 Telephone: 312-782-1654 Toll Free: 800-782-ISMS Fax: 312-782-2028