Casinos have remained just about the only place people could smoke cigarettes indoors in Pennsylvania since the 2008 passage of the Clean Indoor Air Act. That act prohibited smoking inside all public places and workplaces, with exemptions given to casinos and come small bars and clubs.
A bill introduced the Pennsylvania House of Representatives would remove all the exemptions, including the one for casino floors.
House Bill 2298, which seeks to expand the Clean Indoor Air Act to more workplaces and outdoor spaces, was announced by state Rep. Dan Frankel last week. “Current law allows smoking in some bars, and casinos and sports venues,” Frankel told Pittsburgh’s WTAE News. “Right now, it’s perfectly legal to smoke after hours inside an in-home child care facility. With these loopholes, our law says it’s OK if some people—workers, sports fans, children—are at risk of getting sick.”
The bill would ban smoking at places where it is currently allowed — including private clubs, casinos, cigar bars, tobacco shops, and bars and restaurants with less than 20 percent of sales from food.
In addition, the bill includes e-cigarettes in the definition of smoking and allows local governments to have smoke-free ordinances that go beyond state law.
Frankel announced the legislation at the Hidden Harbor bar in Squirrel Hill, joined by state Senator Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, who said he would introduce a similar bill in the Senate this week.
“Pennsylvania laws are out of date, and they leave state and local officials unequipped to protect their residents,” Frankel said. “They are also out of step with consumers, and doomsday predictions that people would rather stay home than go to a smoke-free bar have fallen flat.”
