Durbin Marks 36TH Anniversary of Banning Smoking on Airplanes WITH Speech on Senate Floor

WASHINGTON–U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) yesterday delivered a speech on the Senate floor to mark the 36thanniversary of landmark legislation to ban smoking on airplanes. In 1988, Durbin’s legislation became law, banning smoking on domestic flights that were two hours or less, which was then expanded to all domestic flights in 1990. Soon, this ban created a cultural change in American society, and smoking was prohibited in restaurants, hospitals, offices, and stores. Expanded no smoking areas, increased taxation of tobacco products, and better awareness of the harms of smoking gradually resulted in significant reductions in American smoking rates.
Durbin began his remarks by recalling the words of an airline counter attendant who reminded him that Congress could act to ban smoking on flights.
“One of the best votes I ever cast in the House or the Senate was the result of a challenge from a complete stranger. The year was 1986. I was running late to the airport heading back to Chicago from Phoenix, Arizona. Those were the days when you could get a ticket at the airline counter at the last minute, but if you were too late, the good seats in the plane would all be gone. When I was handed my boarding pass in Phoenix, I saw that I was put in a middle seat in the smoking section at the back of the plane,”Durbin recounted.
“I asked the United Airlines attendant, ‘Isn’t there something you can do about this?’ She looked down at my ticket and my title and said, ‘No, but Congressman, there is something you can do about it,’”Durbin said.
“I thanked her and made the flight. As I squirmed in my seat to try and avoid the smoke clouds, I began to look around the plane. And in front of me, only a few rows away, was an older person. Near him was a new mom with a baby. I thought to myself, ‘This makes no sense at all. These people are supposed to be sitting in the non-smoking section. I’m in the smoking section, yet here they are just a few rows ahead, breathing the same secondhand smoke that I’m breathing,’”Durbin said.
Upon returning to Washington, D.C., Durbin gathered his staff and proposed his plan to ban smoking on airplanes. Despite Big Tobacco’s looming presence and resources on Capitol Hill, Durbin pushed for support for his legislation, motivated by his desire to protect Americans from the danger of smoking, which had caused his own father’s death.
“The tobacco industry was the most powerful lobby force in Washington, with support from the top leadership of both political parties… Here I was, a relatively new Member of Congress, who wanted to take on the tobacco lobby. Everyone said I didn’t have a shot,”Durbin said.“With the leadership on both sides against me, I didn’t have a prayer.”
“But this was personal to me and a lot of people who served in Congress. My father died of lung cancer when I was 14 years old. He was 53 years old. He smoked two packs of Camels a day. I thought of him when I was sitting on that flight from Phoenix, and I remembered him as I began to pursue this cause,”Durbin continued.
Determined to pass a smoking ban, Durbin personally lobbied his fellow Members of Congress, including those who smoked themselves, to work alongside him.
“One thing I did have going for me was that the U.S. House of Representatives was the largest frequent flyer club in the world. Many other Members told me privately they hated breathing in cigarette smoke on airplanes just as much as I did. But to pass the bill, we would need to overcome the opposition from some of our colleagues who were avid smokers, including the then-Chair of the House Public Works Committee,”Durbin said.
“One of those colleagues was on the Appropriations Committee where I served, the late Congressman Marty Sabo of Minnesota. He had the power to make or break our bill, and he was a chain smoker. I went up to him and I said, ‘Marty, what’s the longest you can go without a cigarette?’ He told me, ‘Two hours,’”Durbin said.“So I said, ‘Two hours it’ll be.’ We introduced a bill that would ban smoking on all domestic flights that were two hours or less.”
“We passed the bill in the House by some miraculous chain of events, after the Rules Committee literally defied the Speaker and let me offer the amendment. The Chair of the Rules Committee was a man named Claude Pepper…Thanks to his help and the help of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, the bill cleared the Senate shortly thereafter,”Durbin recalled.
Durbin continued on, explaining that this ban on smoking on two-hour domestic flights was a catalyst for change. Two years later, the ban was expanded to all domestic flights. Shortly after its enactment, smoke-free areas were expanded, and smoking was banned from public spaces. As a result, the rate of teen smoking decreased from almost 30 percent in 2000 to down to just two percent today.
“Today is the 36th anniversary of that law prohibiting smoking on all domestic flights. It is also the anniversary of one of the biggest tipping points in the fight against smoking and Big Tobacco. After my ban passed, Americans started asking obvious questions like ‘If secondhand smoke is dangerous on an airplane, why isn’t it dangerous in a bus or a train or an office building or a restaurant or a hospital?’”Durbin said.“And as more Americans asked these questions, smoking disappeared gradually from public life.”
Durbin then thanked his allies in the fight against Big Tobacco, acknowledging the hard work of lawyers, scientists, flight attendants, and concerned citizens.
“This accomplishment is more than my own, and I’m not taking personal credit for it. It is the culmination of work for decades by activists, lawyers, doctors, and so many other people who took a stand against Big Tobacco against the odds. Their bravery and efforts deserve recognition. Their contributions are felt every time we take a breath of fresh air in public,”Durbin said.
Durbin concluded his speech by reminding Americans of their own ability to bring about positive change.
“I tell this story because more Americans, especially young people, feel that they have no control over their destiny. They see endless doom on their social media and feel as if their lives are controlled by the powerful forces with the money, resources, and time to dictate policy,”Durbin said.“But that can be overcome. It may not feel like it, but in our democracy, there is no limit to what we can accomplish in defense of the public good.”
“The tobacco lobby was the big boy in town. They had billions of dollars, lawyers, politicians, more money than friends, and investigators ready to squash any threat. Yet I beat them. We beat them. They still lost to a group of concerned citizens who had fewer resources and far less power than they did. But these citizens had the truth, a noble cause, and resilience,”Durbin concluded.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is availablehere.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is availablehere.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is availableherefor TV Stations.
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