By Matt Simonette

Staff writer

As of last week, Illinois smokers who want to light up in public have to take it outside.

The state ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, among other public venues, took effect Jan. 1 Those who want to smoke in these places have to stay outside, at least 15 feet from the entryway.

While some business owners have criticized the rule as too paternalistic and bad for business, especially for local bars, many in the community have been preparing for the law to take effect, according to Kristen Torres, who coordinates the Bitch to Quit smoking cessation program at Howard Brown Health Center, 4025 N. Sheridan.

A few bars contacted HBHC about making information on quitting smoking available to their customers, according to Torres. She said one local bar is even paying for its employees to take part in Bitch to Quit.

The program had not met for a few months, so Torres was not sure if the enrollment is up because of the ban, but she said that the groups have been running at capacity. In January, she said, “We expect to get a lot of people from the New Year’s resolutions crowd.”

In the first few weeks of Bitch to Quit, which Torres called “half-therapeutic, half-behavior modification and peer support,” participants discuss the triggers that usually prompt them to light up. “We don’t ask them to come (smoking) free,” Torres said, adding that the actual cessation usually happens in the third week.

“We ask them to quit the midnight before” that session, Torres said. “We have a ceremony where we encourage you to get rid of everything that reminds you of smoking—cigarettes, your favorite lighter or ashtrays.”

She added, “We encourage people to grieve. It’s like the loss of a friend.”

Subsequent sessions strive to help participants adjust to life without cigarettes, and that includes addressing one perceived side effect of quitting.

“People think that when you give up smoking you gain all kinds of weight. On average people gain about nine pounds. So we teach about good nutrition, fitness elements and relaxation techniques,” Torres said.

The group also discusses the likelihood of going back to smoking. Torres said that many smokers need to make multiple attempts to quit—on average they try about nine to 12 times. Their ultimate success, she said, “depends on each particular smoker. It’s different for everybody.”

Participants, in the end, aren’t required to quit smoking. “But we encourage them to keep coming, so, if they do decide to stop in the future, they already have the right tools in place,” Torres said.

She added that any community resistance to the smoking ban likely won’t last long.

“People aren’t going to stay away forever. Eventually, even the hardcore smokers will go out again,” she said.

For information on Bitch to Quit, call (773) 388-8682.