1. (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that:

   1. (1) The U.S. government has determined that secondhand tobacco smoke is a major threat to public health for which there is no safe level of exposure.
   2. (2) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently classified secondhand tobacco smoke a Class A carcinogen, ranking it with substances such as asbestos and benzene.
   3. (3) According to U.S. government figures, secondhand tobacco smoke is linked to the lung-cancer deaths of an estimated 3,000 nonsmokers per year.
   4. (4) Cigarette smoke is a special risk to children, causing between 150,000 and 300,000 respiratory infections each year in children under 18 months old, and endangering between 200,000 and one million children with asthma.
   5. (5) The health of the children of this State should not be compromised by needless exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.
2. (b) It is a violation of this Act for any person to smoke tobacco in any area of a day care center.
3. (c) It is a violation of this Act for any person to smoke tobacco in any area of a day care home or group day care home.
4. (d) It is a violation of this Act for any person responsible for the operation of a day care center, day care home, or group day care home to knowingly allow or encourage any violation of subsection (b) or (c) of this Section.

(Source: P.A. 99-343, eff. 8-11-15.)