Editorial: Smoking bans in casinos

Friday, Dec. 23, 2005 | 7:28 a.m.

The chief of the American Gaming Association says his industry is bracing for a 2006 fight against a proliferation of initiatives seeking to ban smoking in casinos.

According to a recent story by the Las Vegas Sun, Frank Fahrenkopf, the association's chief executive, said smoking bans are bad for business because some gamblers want to smoke while they play. His group is calling on casino owners to install better filtration systems to circulate fresh air into gaming establishments.

His hope is to head off smoking bans such as those proposed in numerous states and those recently enacted in Massachusetts, Idaho and Washington state.

In 2004 a coalition of heath groups in Nevada circulated an initiative petition to place on the 2006 ballot a measure to ban smoking in public places where minors are allowed, including the gaming areas of grocery and convenience stores. Fearing an eventual ban inside casinos, the casino industry circulated a competing and less-restrictive measure.

The 2005 Legislature, charged with choosing one initiative for the 2006 ballot or rejecting both, rejected both. But the call for a smoking ban likely will resurface next year.

It has been widely known for decades that cigarette smoke -- even the secondhand variety -- has devastating and lethal health consequences. Many people, including gamblers, prefer smoke-free environments. As a result, the majority of the Las Vegas poker rooms are smoke-free, and some casinos have set aside certain tables and banks of slot machines for nonsmokers. Casino customers now have choices.

But dealers, waitresses and other workers have few choices beyond finding other jobs. They are exposed to a known carcinogen every time they show up for work. It would seem that the medical bills of thousands of casino workers would prompt health insurers and human resources departments to take notice. The smoke-free issue could become a workers' rights issue.

And Fahrenkopf is correct when he says that the casino industry should do all it can to voluntarily clean up its indoor environment.