ANR responds to St. Louis legislation to allow smoking in casinos

St. Louis, Missouri— Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights President and CEO Cynthia Hallett issued the following statement after the St. Louis County Council passed legislation that included carve-outs for casinos in the county’s clean air law:

“The notion of a partial smoking policy in casinos is a failed attempt to address the serious health concerns of casino workers and only serves to appease the gaming and tobacco industries. The evidence is stark, and the message is clear: compromised policies compromise health. Secondhand smoke respects no boundaries, and allowing smoking in designated areas cannot cloak the pervasive risks it poses. 

“The CDC and ventilation experts agree that only 100% smokefree indoor policies can protect workers and nonsmoking guests from the dangers of secondhand smoke. It is baffling that lawmakers are granting casinos unique permission to knowingly expose their workers to such dangerous, but preventable, conditions. We urge the Council to reconsider smokefree casino legislation to protect the health of their constituents and enhance the local industry by delivering a secure and health-conscious environment aligned with contemporary customer expectations.”

BACKGROUND
Over the last three years, thousands of casino workers have joined the worker-led movement to close the casino smoking loophole. Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) is active in five states including New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Virginia. CEASE members have testified before legislators, sharing harrowing stories of pregnant women being forced to work surrounded by high-roller cigar smokers and some who have developed cancer after a lifelong career in the casinos.

More and more casinos nationwide are going smokefree, including Park MGM on the Las Vegas Strip. At least 160 sovereign Tribal gaming venues have implemented 100% smokefree policies during COVID-19, 20 states require commercial casinos to be smokefree indoors, and more than 1,000 gaming properties do not permit smoking indoors.

A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that found adult cigarette smoking rates in the U.S. dropped to an all-time low, with only 1 in 9 adults saying they were current smokers. Another report from the CDC Office on Smoking and Health examined air quality in Las Vegas casinos. The report, entitled “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Your Lungs” evaluated particulate matter – an indicator for secondhand smoke – in casinos that are smokefree indoors, and compared the results to casinos that allow smoking. They affirmed that prohibiting smoking throughout the entirety of a casino is the only way to prevent the harms of secondhand smoke.

Ventilation systems are not the answer, according to the engineers who design such systems and collectively make up the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). “[Ventilation systems] are not effective against secondhand smoke” and “can reduce only odor and discomfort, but cannot eliminate exposure,” reads their report. “There is no currently available or reasonably anticipated ventilation or air-cleaning system that can adequately control or significantly reduce the health risks of [environmental tobacco smoke] to an acceptable level.”