Smoking Ban Unlikely in Southern Illinois

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Smoking ban is a nonstarter here," by Kevin McDermott--

Cities and towns all over northern and central Illinois are pondering whether to ban smoking in public places like bars and restaurants starting next month, when a new state law will give local municipalities that option. But there's been hardly a whiff of discussion in the Metro East area or in Southern Illinois.

It's a regional political oddity that may have the simplest of explanations, and the most disturbing, to health advocates: The southern half of the state just smokes more.

--Posted by Missouri personal injury attorney T. Evan Schaeffer of Illinois and Missouri personal injury law firm Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.