Fox Lake Says NO To Ban
From: Garnet Dawn To: Daily Herald (Letters to the Editor) ; lfilas@dailyherald.com Sent: Sunday, November 12, 2006 8:30 PM Subject: Letter to the Editor - Fox Lake embraces smokers Congratulations to Fox Lake for stating it's position clearly and leaving no doubt that they are a community which still supports our US Constitution, Bill of Rights, personal life-style right-to-choice and for refusing to engage in negotiations with the tobacco control crusaders of Lake County and massive pressures from wealthy, charitable health organizations. One would have to be a hermit to escape the barrage of SHS propaganda distributed by the CDC, ACS, ALA, AHA and Smoke Free Lake County Partners. There is no doubt that the village's public officials have received their fair share of "Smoke Free" literature. Fox Lake residents should be proud of the position taken by Mayor Cindy Irwin for refusing to even consider an invasive government smoking ban ordinance. Hasn't the tobacco control industry wasted enough tax payer dollars through monopolizing public officials' attention and time upon smoking bans in Lake County? During the May 9, 2006 televised Lake County Board Meeting, representatives Judy Martini (Fox Lake, Antioch) and Bonnie Thompson Carter (Wauconda, Fox Lake-S) both voted against the Board passing a resolution to support the Health Department's proposal to make Lake County smoke-free by the end of 2007. They also both clearly stated that smoking bans in those areas would be completely unrealistic, unenforceable and detrimental to the affected communities. The Chain-of-Lakes is not an urban shopping mall/industrial park/chain restaurant atmosphere. These are the recreational towns where tourists and residents flock to enjoy their boats, campers, out-door activities, bars and restaurants, and freedom from the invasive restrictions of every day life. Hospitality smoking bans have never been about health. They are about power, money and control. Not one life will be saved through government enforced restaurant, bowling alley and bar smoking bans. Consumers have a choice in the establishments they patronize. The decision to allow smoking or become smoke free should remain with the individual business owner. Upon attending the recent Senate Executive Committee Hearing in downtown Chicago, it became clear that officials of villages and cities in Lake and Cook counties who had already passed smoking bans were those strongly supporting legislation of a state-wide smoking ban in Illinois. These officials were suddenly concerned with a "level-economic-playing-field" for hospitality businesses in their communities. Perhaps they should have given those economic results more consideration, before passing their local smoking bans ordinances over the protests of private business owners and residents. Kudos to Fox Lake village officials for refusing to join current “follow-the-leader” trendy government-imposed smoking bans, and also for stubbornly continuing to represent the interests of their constituents. November 12, 2006
BY LEE FILAS, Daily Herald Staff Writer
A smoky haze is almost always present at Jimmy V's Sports Bar in Fox Lake. That secondhand smoke means business is good, says owner and nonsmoker Tony Bodanyi. If smoking is taken from his Route 59 tavern, the customers likely would be gone with it, Bodanyi fears. "I would be dead set against (the village) putting in a smoking ban of any kind," he said. "It would hurt my business. It would hurt everyone's business in town. No way. I'm completely against it." Bodanyi need not worry. Mark Gorsuch, of Fox Lake lights up a cigarette at Jimmy V's Sports Bar in Fox Lake, where officials have said a government smoking ban will not be explored. (Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com) Fox Lake officials have made it clear to the Lake County Health Department they will not consider a smoking ban. The health department has been making the rounds since 2004, touting smoking restrictions to villages across the county. So far 10 Lake County towns have adopted some form of a smoking ban in public places. While not every town has adopted a ban, every village has at least been willing to listen. Every village, that is, except Fox Lake. "I think people would reject it hands down at this point," Fox Lake Mayor Cindy Irwin said. "I believe people wouldn't want government to tell them what they can and can't do with their business, and adopting a smoking policy would do that." Irwin was a smoker herself until this year when she used a new laser treatment to kick the habit. She even offered it to Fox Lake residents, bringing a technician to village hall who would do the procedure for $300 per person. As much as she might support people trying to quit, she's not going to legislate it. "I understand that waitresses and bartenders who do not smoke will come into contact with secondhand smoke," Irwin said. "But they understand the risks when they take the job and have a right to not work in those smoking facilities." Bill Mays, director of community health for the Lake County Health Department, questioned whether Fox Lake officials understand the wants of the town's residents. "I personally think they may be misunderstanding the feelings of their residents when it comes to smoking," he said. "I hope they realize that approximately 80 percent of the population does not smoke." County board member Bonnie Thompson Carter, a Republican from Ingleside, agreed the health department should come in for a demonstration. "I think it's dangerous territory when we think we know all the information or have all the answers," she said. "The village could still say no, but at least they would have made an informed decision if they listened to the presentation." More than 15 bars or restaurants dot the landscape of Fox Lake - most on the shores of the Chain O' Lakes. By comparison, neighboring Lake Villa has six taverns. "Understand, we have a lot of restaurants and taverns in town. Most of them would be hurt if smoking were banned," Irwin said. Some towns are just not ready to change, said Mays. "I also think village representatives are overstating the economic impacts of ending smoking," he said. Libertyville is one of the most recent Lake County towns to adopt a smoking ban. Ralph Sabatini, general manager of Austin's Saloon and Eatery in Libertyville, said business hasn't dropped since the ban took effect in October. "We find the older folks are having a more difficult time with it but that our younger crowd understands it's a way of life," he said. In some respects, Sabatini said the change may have helped his business. "I think it really opened us up to more customers," he said. "It's teaching businesses like ours to accept change and it's something we have to try and embrace more." Bodanyi, like Fox Lake officials, is not swayed. "Getting rid of smoking inside of my bar would just kill me," he said.
Fox Lake resists smoking ban November 10, 2006
Leah Hope Smokers are welcome at bars and restaurants in one far north suburban town. Unlike 10 other communities in Lake County, officials in Fox Lake say they have no plans to consider a smoking ban. Friday afternoon and some stopped by Jimmy V's Sports Bar after work in Fox Lake for a drink and a smoke. Bar owner Tony Bodanyi says about two-thirds of his patrons smoke, so he allows smoking at the bar. "I feel it is the prerogative of the business owner to decide what they do in their own establishment. I feel that it's their right to determine if smoking should be banned or not or allowed in certain areas within their eatery or pub," said Bodanyi. It seems Fox Lake business owners will maintain that prerogative and not follow the trend of other Lake County towns. So far, 10 towns have passed smoking bans in Lake County after health officials started a tobacco-free campaign earlier this year. The Daily Herald reports most municipalities have been willing to listen to the tobacco-free pitch except Fox Lake. Fox Lake's mayor, Cindy Irwin, says: "I believe people wouldn't want government to tell them what they can and can't do with their business." Bill Mayes is the county's community health service director. He says it is their responsibility to encourage smoke-free work environments. "We respect Fox Lake's decision not to want us there. That said, we hope that city officials are not misreading the sentiments of Fox Lake residents," said Mayes. Some Lake County smokers say they would respect whatever each town decides to do. "You know, if they have smoking I would go with the flow of no smoking and if does, you know there is times when I want to smoke," said Sharon Flores, smoker. "It's a healthy thing to do but it's kind of good that there is some action being taken towards smoking stuff. It kind of stinks to be me, but I can deal with it," said Brian Kraenzle, smoker. You can read more on this story in the Sunday edition of the Daily Herald newspaper. Read
Fox Lake tries to clear air with lasers
Therapy offered, not smoking ban
By Dave Wischnowsky, Tribune staff reporter
Published June 20, 2006
Fox Lake Mayor Cindy Irwin tried for years to quit smoking. Even so, she resented the trend of municipal smoking bans sweeping Lake County and the larger metro area.
A better public policy, she reasoned, would be helping those who wanted to quit.
So she arranged for the Stop Smoking Clinic of Wilmette to set up shop at Village Hall and give residents the non-intrusive laser therapy that she says worked for her.
"If you ban smoking, people are still going to smoke," Irwin said. "So instead of a ban, we're giving people a way to quit. And we're offering them a chance to do it here in town, rather than having to drive 45 miles away."
On Friday, more than 30 smokers, ranging in age from 19 to their 60s, visited Village Hall to undergo laser treatment. The event, dubbed the Fox Lake Smoke Out, proved so popular that the clinic is scheduled to return to town July 10 to treat at least 10 more people. Smokers paid for the therapy themselves; the village simply hosted the event.
Dr. Dan Mossell and Shawn Mossell opened the Stop Smoking Clinic last July, offering a $250 laser therapy program. It includes a 30-minute session during which low-level lasers stimulate pressure points on the body associated with the release of endorphins, the body's natural pleasure-inducing chemicals.
Critics of laser therapy, which has been around for decades in Europe and Canada but only received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February 2005, said there's little scientific basis to back it up.
`No evidence that it works'
The American Lung Association "does not endorse laser therapy as a form of smoking cessation," Tynan said. "There's no evidence that it works."
The Mossells acknowledge the skepticism but contend that 90 percent of their clients stop smoking after one laser therapy session.
To ensure success, however, smokers must also follow through on the entire program, which includes a variety of relaxation techniques and measures intended to take one's mind off his or her nicotine cravings, Dan Mossell said.
"The lasers aren't a magic wand," he said. "The person also has to really want to quit."
At Irwin's suggestion, Fox Lake Police Chief Mike Behan underwent laser therapy in early May, shortly after the mayor did. A heavy smoker for 25 years, Behan said he hasn't touched a cigarette since.
Now, the police chief also believes in what he calls Fox Lake's "innovative" alternative to smoking bans. "We're trying to have a proactive approach to smoking, rather than a reactive one," Behan said.
Eugene Reimers, 63, of Fox Lake was one of the smokers to receive laser therapy Friday. Suffering from the early stages of emphysema and spending an estimated $700 a month on cigarettes for him and his wife, Reimers said he has tried to quit smoking many times before.
"If I would have to drive all the way to Wilmette [for laser therapy], I probably never would have done this," he said. "But the fact that the village made it so convenient made me want to do it."
Reimers said another motivation behind his desire to quit is that several of his favorite restaurants in Fox Lake have decided to go smoke-free.
"It's become either don't smoke or don't go to the restaurant," he said. "I think smoking is going to be a thing of the past. You're going to be able to do it in your home, and that's about it."
While Fox Lake's approach is targeting individual smokers, a ban similar to those passed in other parts of the area, including Chicago, would do more to protect non-smokers in public places, said Kevin Tynan, deputy executive director of marketing for of the American Lung Association's Chicago-area office.
"As a byproduct [of the bans], people will reduce smoking," he said. "The major issue is that workers in restaurants and bars should not have to breathe secondhand smoke."
The Lake County communities of Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Highland Park, Lincolnshire and Vernon Hills have banned smoking in public places, including restaurants and bars, while Lindenhurst is set to vote on the issue Monday. Lake Forest expects to have a public reading of a proposal July 5.
A countywide ban?
Last month, the Lake County Board passed a resolution supporting a Health Department proposal to make the county smoke-free by the end of 2007.
Unlike Cook County, which passed a smoking ban, Lake County does not have the power to do so. That could soon change, however. A bill that would allow counties to impose bans in unincorporated areas has passed the state legislature and is on the desk of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. If the bill becomes law, Lake County health officials are hopeful that the County Board would vote to put it into effect.
Whatever happens, don't expect Fox Lake to jump on the smoking ban bandwagon, Irwin said.
"There is not, by any means, a smoking ban on the agenda in Fox Lake," she said. "I really believe smoking is a personal choice, and that's what I'll believe as long as I'm in office."
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