SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — Both chambers of the state legislature have passed a bill that would prohibit the use of e-cigarettes indoors in public buildings.

The bill would make Illinois the 18th state in the nation to outlaw indoor vaping.

“There’s absolutely no reason a person – from a pregnant woman to a young child – should be exposed to harmful e-cigarette products while in public,” Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said. “It’s about time we set a clear standard that protects non-smokers and further de-normalizes tobacco use.”

Advocates say the proposed bill will help Illinoisans breathe clean smoke-free air and help people’s health,

“E-cigarettes pose a potential risk to people who do not use them through secondhand exposure to toxicants in the aerosol,” Ally Lopshire, the government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said. “Prohibiting the use of e-cigarettes in workplaces, including restaurants, bars and gaming facilities, can protect the public’s health by preventing nonusers from being exposed to nicotine and other potentially harmful chemicals in the aerosol emitted by these products.”

The bill now heads to Governor Pritzker’s desk.

Illinois previously passed laws to raise the age to buy tobacco products to 21 in 2019 and limiting advertising of e-cigarette products to underage people in 2022.