Illinois Smoking Ban to Snuff Out University Smoking Studies

The St.Louis Post Dispatch reports on the wacky state of Illinois:

The looming Illinois smoking ban could snuff out university studies that aim to help smokers quit.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale is in the middle of a $2.8 million study analyzing the effectiveness of nicotine patches and the drug Zyban on smokers who are trying to kick the habit.

Prior to quitting, participants must smoke in a special ventilated laboratory so researchers can compare brain waves before and after the influence of nicotine, said David Gilbert, psychology professor at SIUC. The lab is designed to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke.

Regardless, this is still indoor smoking, making it illegal under the Smoke Free Illinois Act, which prohibits smoking in almost all public places starting Jan. 1.


"It's really quite foolish to hinder a program that helps people quit smoking," Gilbert said. "That wasn't the intent of the law."

The research is primarily funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and is one of the largest studies on smoking cessation in the world, Gilbert said.

Northwestern University faces the same dilemma: The Feinberg School of Medicine is conducting several tobacco and nicotine studies that require participants to smoke indoors, also in a ventilated lab. One project analyzes the attraction of smoking for niche populations, such as women who fear gaining weight and smokers with a tendency toward depression, said Bonnie Spring, professor of preventive medicine.

Her study is funded primarily by the National Institute of Health. Gilbert says that he knows of other Illinois universities that conduct publicly funded smoking research, but that they are trying to "fly under the radar."

Officials from SIU and Northwestern have been lobbying legislators to add exemptions for research on tobacco and nicotine use, and researchers hope the act won't extinguish their projects next semester.

Officials at the Illinois Department of Public Health don't know if the state will adopt a special exemption or not. The Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules is expected to look at the request in early January.

Spring finds it ironic that a new law threatens government-funded research with public health benefits — especially those that embrace the spirit of the smoking ban by helping nicotine addicts.

"It's very troublesome," Spring said.

I guess when you ban something it will go somewhere else.Good luck to Illinois casinos after Jan.1,it's hard to compete when other states allow smoking in casinos.