Health Effects of Smoking/Vaping in Illinois

The health and economic impact of cigarette smoking includes increased risks for chronic disease, diminished productivity, and premature death. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body.

Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, type 2 diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking also increases the risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis.

Smoking can cause cancer and then block your body from fighting it. Poisons in cigarette smoke can weaken the body's immune system, making it harder to kill cancer cells. When this happens, cancer cells keep growing without being stopped.

Coronary heart disease and strokes are the leading and third leading causes of death in the United States. Heart disease and stroke are both primary types of cardiovascular disease caused by tobacco use. People who stop tobacco use can cut in half their risk of having a heart attack or dying of heart disease. Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of heart disease in the United States.

People who smoke cigarettes are 30%-40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people who do not smoke. People with diabetes who smoke are more likely than those who do not smoke to have trouble with insulin dosing and with managing their condition. Persons who have diabetes and smoke can experience serious health problems, including heart disease, kidney disease, poor blood flow in the legs, retinopathy, and peripheral neuropathy.

Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke Exposure

Secondhand smoke is a combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar, or other combustible tobacco product, and the smoke breathed out by a smoker. When a person smokes near you, you can be exposed to secondhand smoke, which can result in worsening asthma symptoms, lung problems, ear infections, or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in babies and children. In adults, secondhand smoke exposure can cause heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke; even brief exposure can cause immediate harm. The Smoke-Free Illinois Act protects people from secondhand smoke exposure in workplaces and public places. However, many people remain exposed to secondhand smoke in areas not covered by laws and ordinances, including apartment buildings, condominiums, and single-family homes.

Reducing Secondhand Smoke

At Home

The home is the primary source of secondhand smoke exposure for children. Secondhand smoke can travel into an apartment from other apartments and common areas through doorways, cracks in walls, electrical lines, ventilation systems, and plumbing. Smokefree policies prohibiting smoking in living units and common areas of multi-unit housing buildings are legally permitted and are the most effective way to fully protect residents from exposure to secondhand smoke. Property managers, landlords, and tenants, can learn more about a smoke-free housing policy at:

• Public Health Law Center, Smoke-free Housing
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Smoke-free Housing

In Vehicles

Smoking in vehicles causes both short-term and long-term health risks to passengers. Because of the small air volume, smoking in vehicles rapidly generates high concentrations of secondhand smoke at a level that is higher than smoke measured in bars and taverns where people are smoking. In June 2020, the Illinois Vehicle Code was amended to prohibit smoking in a motor vehicle whether it is in motion or at rest, if a person under 18 years of age is in the vehicle, regardless of whether the vehicle's windows are open. Smoking refers to a lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, weed, plant, regulated narcotic, or other combustible substance. A police officer may not stop a motor vehicle or inspect the vehicle, driver, or passengers for a suspected violation. A violation of this provision is a petty offence with a maximum fine of $100 for a first offense and $250 for a second or subsequent offense.