ANR UPDATE, 31(4), Winter 2012
Smokefree Casinos
August: The "A Winning Hand for Smokefree Casinos" ancillary session at the National Conference on Tobacco Or Health in Kansas City was a rockin' great success. More than 60 participants from across many states and tribal nations attended to hear the latest information and lessons learned and to network with other advocates in the smokefree casino movement. At the ancillary session, we debuted a 7-minute YouTube video about Sheryl Wilkins, a loving wife, mother, and casino dealer; who lost her battle
with
cancer from breathing years of secondhand smoke on the job. Multiple panel presentations
during the day covered topics such as surveying casino players' clubs, measuring
a casino's indoor air quality, message testing, engaging the community voice in advocacy, mobilizing campaigns to build support, and celebrating smokefree casinos effectively.
Some comments from participants about the session:
"Excellent meeting! I enjoyed the number of tribal representatives and involvement. Great Job ANR!!!!"
"All the topics today were very educational and helpful in understanding how to address smoking in Native casinos. I was touched by the video. Looking forward to posting it on our several network sites."
"A Winning Hand for Smokefree Casinos" is an important topic that needs its own day-long session, to share our collaborative effort, to bring the basic health issue for our people to the forefront."
"Great ancillary session. Thank you ANR for setting up and facilitating. Good and productive discussion around smokefree casinos. Allows for great networking with peers."
September: The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Region 5, in conjunction with the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa,
hosted the "Toward Clean and Healthy Tribal Casinos" Workshop
at the Grand Portage Lodge & Casino, which is owned and operated by the
Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The most northerly of the Great
Lakes, Lake Superior has been home to the Ojibwe people for more than 500 years.
The locale is gorgeous and the outdoor air is clean, but the air inside the
lodge 
and
casino is not. While ANR generally supports and attends meetings only in smokefree
cities or venues, this was a unique opportunity to hear from and speak with
tribal members from Grand Portage, MN as well as others from Region 5, which
includes IL, IN, MI, WI, OH, and MN. Jeff Mears, an indoor air quality specialist
from the Oneida tribe in WI, spoke powerfully about the realities of ventilation
and "controlling the source pollutant," noting that ventilation cannot
control for all the constituents in secondhand smoke. He reminded the audience
that smoke goes through three phases - gases, particulate, and aerosol liquid
- and that each requires different handling. There was also a great deal of
information about the health hazards of secondhand smoke exposure, the health
benefits of smokefree air, the trend toward smokefree commercial casinos, and
the growing number of voluntarily smokefree tribal casinos, as well as thoughtful
discussions about keeping tobacco sacred while also eliminating the use and
abuse of commercial tobacco.
October: The casino industry held its largest meeting and exhibition, the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, NV. For the first time, there was a pre-conference lecture on smokefree casinos: "Smokefree Casinos: A Case Study Look at the Potential Impacts" shared data collected for Revel Resorts management in Atlantic City, NJ to assess if people would be more or less likely to book a room at a "luxury casino resort" if they knew it was completely smokefree. Three thousand individuals from NJ and neighboring states, including MD, NY, PA, and VA, were surveyed; 80% classified themselves as nonsmokers and 17% as smokers. The majority of the sample indicated they would come more often or just as often if the resort were smokefree. While there was some differential between the responses of smokers and nonsmokers, the survey demonstrated that current players and patrons would come back if casinos were smokefree. The main concern expressed by casinos is that players who smoke a) play longer than nonsmokers and b) would have to leave the game (at the table or the slot machine) if the casino were smokefree, thereby decreasing their playing time and the amount of money taken in by the house; hence the perception of a "negative" economic impact. ANR raised the suggestion that perhaps nonsmokers do not play as long because of the smoke; that they walk away to get a breath of fresh air. Thus far, no survey of non-players has been conducted to ask whether they would patronize a smokefree casino, nor has any survey asked current nonsmoking players if they spend less time playing because of the smoke. In our opinion, there is a very large, untapped market of nonsmoking patrons or players that casinos are excluding from the property simply because it is smoke-filled. Remember, many casino resorts offer a multitude of activities, from dining to concerts and golf to spa treatments, not just gambling.
While this one presentation out of hundreds is viewed as progress, one only had to walk through a small section of the enormous Exhibit Hall to see that vendors are trying to help casinos deal with the smoke problems through more expensive and less effective means. At least two air fragrance, three e-cigarette companies, and numerous ventilation companies were touting their products. As a reminder ventilation addresses odor but not the health hazards of secondhand smoke.
Clearly, smokefree casinos are front and center with the industry: there is more talk about going smokefree and progress being made toward opening new, smokefree properties. However, hundreds of thousands of commercial and tribal casino workers are still exposed to toxic secondhand smoke in their workplace daily. ANR will continue to do its part to clear the air sooner rather than later, and we appreciate member support in speaking up for smokefree air in ALL workplaces, including bars and casinos.
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