The tribal council of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) has passed an ordinance that restricts smoking at the tribe’s two North Carolina casinos, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort and Harrah’s’ Cherokee Valley River, to enclosed areas on the property.
Following passage, Lavita Hill, author of the legislation, told Council, “I’m so grateful right now. This is amazing. This is huge for the EBCI. This is huge for us, as leaders in Indian Country, and I want to just thank you all,” according to the Cherokee One Feather.
“We made a lot of money without cigarettes, pipes, and cigars being lit up in our casino, and I’ve been told by a lot of the employees up there that they are really grateful for that,” Big Cove Rep. Teresa McCoy added, referencing the fact that the casinos have been smoke-free since the Covide-19 pandemic started. “Secondhand smoke is almost as deadly as smoking.
“We’ve been doing it here with the tribe for a long, long time, and it’s working. It’s a national thing that people are paying attention to. You can’t smoke in restaurants anymore, airplanes, none of that.”
Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed agreed, saying, “I personally like going to the casino now. There’s no smoke and that’s great.”
The final legislation included the following amendment to Cherokee Code Sec. 130-3503: “Smoking may be permitted inside an enclosed area located on the grounds of tribal non-smoking casino gaming enterprises and which is specifically designated as a ‘smoking area.’ A designated ‘smoking area’ must be sufficiently removed from tribal casino gaming operations so that smoke does not migrate into an enclosed area where smoking is prohibited pursuant to this Part.”
