WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 -- Sen. Dick Durbin issued the following press release:
U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) yesterday delivered a speech on the Senate floor to mark the 36th anniversary 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 be...