Fresh air fans are celebrating the five-year anniversary of the Smoke-free Illinois Act, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2008. The law was designed to make it easier to breathe indoors by making all workplaces smoke-free, including warehouses, factories, cabs, restaurants, private clubs, bars and casinos.

“Breathing in secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer and heart disease in adults who don’t smoke. In children, secondhand smoke can increase the risk of serious respiratory problems, such as more frequent and sever asthma attacks, as well as respiratory tract infections,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck. “Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of early death in the Untied States, but thanks to the Smoke-Free Illinois Act, we can collectively take a breath of fresh air in Illinois knowing that more people than ever are enjoying smoke-free environments.”

Five years after the law took effect, smokers seem resigned to taking their cigarettes outdoors, and area bar owners express few complaints.