ANR UPDATE 23(4), Winter 2004

Now that over one-third of the U.S. population lives in areas with smokefree restaurants and/or bars, increasing attention is being paid to casinos and to the health of people who work and visit there. As society has recognized the health dangers of secondhand smoke in indoor environments, it has become commonsense that people shouldn't smoke in those places, including casinos.

"If they don't want to breathe smoke, they can get a job somewhere else…" is an opposition message ANR has heard about a variety of workplaces over the years where employees have suffered disease or even death from secondhand smoke: grocery stores, airplanes, shopping malls, offices, factories, restaurants, bars, and now casinos. Opponents claim that smokefree laws should not include casinos, as going smokefree would put casino operators at a competitive disadvantage with tribal casinos, which enjoy a sovereign exemption from state and local laws. This argument, however, is not merited, as research has shown that casinos do not lose revenue as a result of smokefree laws. After implementation of Delaware's strong smokefree law, Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment reported an initial loss in revenue, but soon thereafter saw an increase in gaming revenue of 13.8%.
Along similar lines, in states that allow video gaming the opposition claims that including casinos in a smokefree law would force gambling customers to go to other jurisdictions that allow video gaming in smoke-filled bars. Again, research has shown that casinos do not lose revenue as a result of implementation of smokefree laws.

Despite these "doom-and-gloom" arguments, a growing number of casino operators are realizing that smokefree air is an inevitability. Argosy Gaming Corporation general counsel James Butler was quoted in the Las Vegas Sun as saying, "I don't think [the smokefree casino movement] can be stopped."

Mr. Butler's sense of inevitability is good news for casino employees and patrons. A study measuring personal exposure to secondhand smoke in casinos, completed in December 2003, showed a 112% average increase in NNAL, a cancer-causing agent, and a 456% increase in the amount of cotinine, the metabolized residue of nicotine, after just a four-hour visit to a smoke-filled casino.

Knowing opposition history, the economic ramifications of smokefree laws in casinos, and the staggering exposure rates in smoke-filled casinos, smokefree proponents should continue to advocate for casinos to be smokefree. ANR recently created two fact sheets, both available on our website, which address smoking in casinos, the economic effects of smokefree gambling, and public support for smokefree gambling, and which include a list of quotes from casino employees and officials.

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