For Part 4 of Eckert & Smestad's New Year's Resolution blog series, we focus on a very popular resolution: quitting smoking. The health risks associated with smoking are clear, as are the addictive properties of cigarettes and nicotine. There are literally thousands of different methods, services, and products available to help people kick the habit, and one such product that is causing some confusion among Illinois restaurateurs and business owners: electronic cigarettes or e-cigs.
E-cigs are products which can help ease smokers off of nicotine by delivering a small amount of nicotine through inhaled water vapor rather than tobacco smoke. There are also claims that e-cigs are healthier than traditional cigarettes because it is only water vapor rather than smoke. Because of these claims, many restaurant and bar owners were left in the dark as to whether e-cigs were covered under the Smoke-free Illinois Act (410 ILCS 82).
The Smoke-free Illinois Act, which became effective on January 1, 2008, banned smoking in virtually all public places in Illinois. With the recent introduction of e-cigs in the marketplace, man Illinois business owners were left wondering whether the use of e-cigs were permitted in public places covered under the Act. On January 15, 2014, Chicago's City Council provided some guidance. The City Council passed an ordinance which treated these electronic cigarettes in the same way as traditional cigarettes with regard to the City's Clean Indoor Air Ordinance - meaning that both traditional and electronic cigarettes are banned from use in most public places in Chicago. For Chicago restaurant and other business owners, the answer is simple: if you allow your customers or employees to use e-cigs in your establishment, you will risk fines and other consequences under the Clean Indoor Air Ordinance.
There has yet to be any clear statewide legislation from Springfield on the topic. For Illinois restaurant and business owners outside of Chicago, this means you should check with your local city council or a licensed attorney familiar with these laws in your area if you have any questions relating to the use of e-cigs in your establishment. There will likely be clear guidelines on this issue coming either from Springfield, the Illinois court-system, or local governments soon, but until then, it may be smartest to avoid potential problems all together and ask that customers and patrons go outside to smoke, regardless of whether they are using traditional or electronic cigarettes.
