Editorial: Time for a smoke-free workplace

Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001 | 9:14 a.m.

Casino executives should finally take steps to prevent the health dangers to their employees and hotel guests that come from second-hand smoke. A National Cancer Institute study released Friday confirmed that Nevada is the worst state in the nation when it comes to employers who have smoke-free policies. This finding is due principally to the fact that casinos constitute the biggest industry in our tourist-based economy. Indeed, the haze from smoking can seem as part of a casino's atmosphere as its neon lights or clanging slot machines.

The study published Friday in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine noted that just 48.7 percent of Nevada's workplaces have smoke-free policies. It's pathetic that two states that are huge producers of tobacco -- Kentucky and North Carolina -- actually have better smoke-free rates for their businesses (55.9 percent and 61 percent respectively) than does Nevada. And it's not just the casinos where second-hand smoke can be found. Any place that you find gambling in this state, second-hand smoke pollutes the air. After all, slot machines -- and smoking -- can even be found in convenience stores, supermarkets and drug stores.

If second-hand smoke were only an irritant, temporarily stinging your eyes or saturating your clothing with its smell, then maybe a case could be made that businesses should be free to do whatever they want. But scientific studies have demonstrated that second-hand smoke is harmful, especially to those who have respiratory ailments, and can even cause cancer. Businesses, then, have a responsibility to ensure that their workplaces are healthy.

The casino industry ignored problem gambling until a federal commission began investigating the issue several years ago. That same kind of dismissive attitude shouldn't apply to second-hand smoke. The time has come for the industry to do something about second-hand smoke, instead of waiting and having to fend off the inevitable lawsuits or until the federal government bans workplace smoking. Casinos heavily promote Las Vegas' "anything goes" image, which includes tolerance of smoking and drinking, but employees -- and visitors, too -- have a right to expect that they are not exposed constantly to something that can seriously jeopardize their health.