The Chicago Traveler

Summer’s here and more and more people are visiting Chicago’s beaches along Lake Michigan. Now is a good time to remind everyone that the city will issue $500 tickets to anyone caught smoking on public beaches. Too many people leave their butts in the sand and pollute the water.
According to the Chicago Tribune, cigarette butts take somewhere between 10 and 15 years to turn into a fine powder:
Yet butts don’t biodegrade, they only break down. The distinction is important to environmentalists, who say butts end up as a plastic residue that stays in ecosystems for decades. A substance that biodegrades, …read more

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2008 is here, and Illinois’ new statewide smoking ban is now in full effect, joining more than 20 states that now have smoking laws. Indoor smoking is forbidden in all public places, including bars, restaurants, and private clubs. Smokers must remain at least 15 feet from business entrances. Indoor smoking is allowed only in private residences, designated hotel rooms, and businesses that generate 80 percent of profits from tobacco sales.
If you think rules were meant to be broken, remember this: you can be fined up to $250 for lighting up where you shouldn’t, and your favorite hangout can be fined …read more

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In bars all across the state of Illinois, smokers are enjoying their last few puffs. The impending statewide smoking ban is less than 4 weeks away, and Chicagoans will either have to butt out or get out.

On January 1, 2008, all bars, restaurants, and sports stadiums must become entirely smoke-free.
If you’re planning on smoking in Chicago, better start investing in caps and gloves now because you’ll have to do it outside. And January is the coldest month of the year.
Every year of course, many people resolve to quit smoking on New Year’s Eve, but the statewide ban may provide even …read more

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Smoking is now off limits at beaches and playgrounds in Chicago.
The park district board voted unanimously on Wednesday to pass the ban, which took effect immediately. Police can issue warnings or tickets with a $500 fine to anyone who smokes within 15 feet of a city beach or playground. Susan Sholty, a young mother who visits city playgrounds often with her child, was all for the ban, “especially with a toddler who picks up everything and puts it, a lot of times, in his mouth.”
The board’s goal is to protect non-smokers, especially children, from second-hand smoke. But cigarette butts and …read more

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