A campaign to ban smoking in workplaces, including casinos and bars, has kicked off in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. A recent poll of 500 registered voters there conducted by Virginia-based Public Opinion Strategies indicated 70 percent of Baton Rouge residents said they would favor a local ordinance that “prohibited smoking in all workplaces, including casinos and bars.” Councilwomen Tara Wicker and Chauna Banks-Daniel said they will bring an ordinance proposal to the parish Metro Council after the campaign has caught on and they can line up enough votes.
Gaming facilities and bars were exempted from ACT 815, enacted by the Louisiana Legislature in 2007, banning smoking in workplaces and public spaces.
The group Smoke-free East Baton Rouge is behind the campaign, made up of Louisiana Cancer Research Center, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, Cancer Action Network and the American Lung Association, as well as doctors, public health officials, bar owners, musicians and others.
Community and Metro Council members recently held a strategy session. Tonia Moore with Smoke-free EBR said, “It’s about the workers who work in these environments where they’re exposed to second hand smoke.” Jule Assercq, a Baton Rouge physician who works with asthma patients, said, “Where is the anger over secondhand smoke? We don’t need to measure that in parts per million, you can see it and you can smell it.” The Louisiana Campaign for a Tobacco-Free Living estimated bar and casino workers breathe enough secondhand smoke to have the same health problems as someone who smokes one pack of cigarettes a day.
A smoking ban in Baton Rouge could significantly impact area casinos, including the Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge, L’Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge and the Belle of Baton Rouge. That was the case in New Orleans when a smoking ban took effect last April. By June, revenue had dropped by 30 percent at Harrah’s New Orleans. Although revenue increased in July, annual earnings were down from 2014. Harrah’s officials blamed the declines on the smoking ban.
Wicker stated she is more concerned for casino employees than for the casinos’ bottom lines. And Lydia Kuykendal, government relations director for the American Cancer Society in Louisiana, said casinos should recognize that banning smoking will make their employees healthier and help them control healthcare costs. “We hope this is something the casinos can get behind,” she said.
