OPINION: Rhode Island casino workers have waited years for a smoke-free workplace. The wait continues.

I’ve worked in the casino business for 30 years. For the past seven years, I’ve worked in Rhode Island casinos where I’m forced to breathe secondhand smoke every single shift to keep my job — a health risk to which no other workers in this state are subjected. You might think smoking is a relic of the past, but tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure remain leading causes of preventable death and disease. And thanks to a loophole in Rhode Island’s clean indoor air laws, the two casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton are among the few places where employees are still exposed to deadly toxic air, day-in and day-out.