A Rhode Island lawmaker has reintroduced a bill seeking to ban smoking inside casinos.

Rep. Teresa Tanzi, D-South Kingstown, said the legislation would update the state’s workplace smoking ban passed in 2004, from which casinos are currently exempt.

“Casino workers are Rhode Islanders, parents, caregivers, taxpayers, and human beings, and they deserve the same protections as everyone else in our state,” Tanzi said. “There’s no excuse for continuing to endanger their health, and we need to pass this bill to let them breathe safely like everyone else.”

According to Tanzi, when casinos reopened during the pandemic, a smoking ban was put into place for Rhode Island’s two casinos until March 2022.