ICAT, CITY OF CHICAGO TEAM UP TO EDUCATE OWNERS, PATRONS ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL SMOKE IN RESTAURANTS

(Chicago, March 30, 1999 --) Chicagoans prefer their steak and potatoes - hold the secondhand smoke - and the Illinois Coalition Against Tobacco (ICAT) is teaming up with the City of Chicago to make sure that they get what they order. This was the result of a poll that ICAT released today revealing that 73 percent of Chicagoans prefer to be seated in the non-smoking section of a restaurant.

As a result, ICAT, headed by the American Heart Association and American Lung Association, and the City are launching a campaign that will educate restaurant owners and their patrons about city regulations requiring a minimum amount of non-smoking seating.

"Compliance with restaurant smoking regulations would not only encourage more people to eat out, it would also improve the public's health because of the diminished exposure to secondhand smoke," said Diana Hackbarth, Professor of Community, Mental Health and Administrative Nursing at Loyola University Chicago. "In fact, our survey found that 85 percent of Chicago residents said they would eat out just as often, if not more often, as they do now if there was no smoking at all allowed in restaurants."

Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is so dangerous that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 37,000 heart disease deaths occur each year due to ETS. The cause of 150,000 - 300,000 respiratory illnesses per year in children under the age of three, ETS is also the number one trigger for asthma attacks in children and adults.

Headed by Commissioner Sheila Lyne, RSM, the City of Chicago Department of Public Health will be doing its part to educate restaurant owners of the existing laws requiring a minimum amount of seating for nonsmokers. City health inspectors will not only be checking restaurants in Chicago to ensure compliance with the ordinance, but also distributing brochures that will help to educate restaurants about the dangers of ETS. Brochures are being developed by ICAT, and will be distributed free of charge to restaurants.

Under existing city law, restaurants are designated as either Category I or Category II establishments. Those considered Category I must set aside a minimum of 30 percent of their active dining area as non-smoking, while Category II restaurants must reserve at least 50 percent of their tables for non-smokers. The owner or operator must prominently display a sign within the restaurant that includes the percentage designated for non-smoking patrons and the phone number of the City of Chicago Department of Public Health. Under an ordinance passed this month by the City Council violations will now be considered "serious" health code violations.

"There are over 6,500 restaurants in Chicago and only about 50 health inspectors, so it is imperative that the public get involved," said Alderman Eugene Schulter (47th Ward), Chairman of the City Council Licensing Committee. "Restaurant patrons need to look not only for proper signage in restaurants, but also to be aware of how well each establishment is abiding by the non-smoking percentages posted on their signs."

According to Schulter, those patrons who either do not see a sign being properly displayed or notice that the non-smoking percentages are being overlooked, should call the City of Chicago Department of Public Health at 312-744-8500.

"We all have a responsibility - restaurants, patrons, policy makers - to protect one another from the dangers of secondhand smoke," said ICAT Chairman Dr. Sam Gidding, a pediatric cardiologist at Children's Memorial Hospital. "ICAT is excited about working with Alderman Schulter and Commissioner Lyne to ensure that Chicago restaurants are complying with regulations regarding secondhand smoke."

Other findings from the survey include: eighty-one percent of those surveyed agreed the amount of smoke a restaurant worker inhales while working in a restaurant where smoking is allowed is enough to hurt them, while seventy-four percent of Chicagoans said people who work in restaurants with smoking areas should not be required to work around people who smoke.

Conducted earlier this year, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. surveyed 714 Illinoisans statewide, including 174 in Chicago, about their views on environmental tobacco smoke. The sampling error is +/- 4.7 percentage points. The Illinois Coalition Against Tobacco (ICAT), headed by the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association, represents more than 100 organizations and individuals working together to reduce the use of tobacco in Illinois.