U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, says 25 years after sponsoring a commercial airline smoking ban, the need for such a law is still important. (Photo courtesy Flickr/Senate Democrats)
By John Gregory/Illinois Radio Network
CHICAGO – 25 years ago, smoking was outlawed on commercial flights, thanks to legislation from an Illinois politician.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), then a congressman from Springfield, sponsored the commercial airline smoking ban law, which went into effect February 23, 1990. He says the significance of the ban is only apparent now.
“I didn’t realize that would make a difference in terms of whether you could smoke on a train, on a bus, in a building, in a restaurant, in a hospital,” Durbin said.
Durbin’s concern now is the regulation of e-cigarettes, which he says are becoming more and more popular with young people, but aren’t subject to the same scrutiny as other tobacco products. Most airlines voluntarily ban e-cigarette use, but Durbin wants an across-the-board ban put in place by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
