Iowa banned smoking in public places in 2008, however, an exception was made for casino gaming floors. Now state Senator Janet Petersen wants to remove that exception, especially since the state’s tribal casinos and some state-licensed casinos banned smoking temporarily in response to Covid-19.
Petersen said, “I do think that may be one silver lining of this horrible pandemic that we’ve been living through is we’ve seen casinos across the state make the decision to eliminate smoking on their premises and it is time for the legislature to just put that policy in place.”
Petersen was a member of the Iowa House in 2008 and chairwoman of the House Commerce Committee that helped pass the Iowa Smokefree Act. Back then casino interests argued if smoking were banned, customers would go to casinos in the Illinois Quad Cities where it was allowed. However, smoking now is prohibited in casinos in Illinois and South Dakota, and a smoking ban has been proposed for new Nebraska casinos.
“I really see the competition argument is weakening because of the states surrounding us, as well as the tribal casinos eliminating smoking,” Petersen said.
Iowa Gaming Association President and Chief Executive Officer Wes Ehrecke noted Native American tribes throughout the U.S. increasingly have been banning smoking in their casinos. “Casinos probably have some of the best filtration and ventilation systems around. We have to accommodate both smokers and non-smokers in a very acceptable and quality indoor environment and we do that. We’re bringing in fresh air several times every hour and that’s really helped during this Covid.”
Ehrecke added, “It’s still legal in this country to smoke but we want to be proactive with it and we are. The employees don’t seem to have complaints that I know of because we are doing such a proactive effort with our ventilation and filtration.”
