A clean air advocacy group in Nevada has released the results of a poll in which nearly 60 percent of Nevada voters surveyed reported they would support banning smoking in casinos.
The poll, commissioned by the Nevada Tobacco Control and Smoke-free Coalition, found 58 percent of respondents say they would support a potential law that made all workplaces in Nevada, including casinos, completely smoke-free indoors. Meanwhile, only 39 percent of respondents said they would oppose such a law.
Nevada voters also said they viewed elected officials who voted for an indoor smoking ban more favorably, 55 percent to 35 percent, according to the poll.
Polling firm Normington Petts polled 800 registered Nevada voters in January through live interviews, landlines, mobile and text-to-web surveys, the methodology states.
A University of Nevada, Reno study released April 24 found secondhand smoke in indoor casino areas is up to 18 times more harmful than outdoor levels, including in family-friendly areas like restaurants and arcades.
“Nevada legislators should take note: Voters want action to protect casino workers and the nearly 90 percent of non-smoking guests from dangerous secondhand smoke,” said a statement from Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR), a national anti-smoking advocacy group.
“Even when industry opponents spend millions on their arguments against this common-sense law, the research shows they will essentially be lighting their money on fire—Nevadans are firm in support of protecting workers. As part of the growing coalition that is led by casino workers themselves, we are working to find a solution to ensure every worker has clean air on the job. We’ll explore every avenue to make this a reality as quickly as possible.”
The Nevada efforts to ban smoking are part of a growing trend across the country, as the American Auto Workers, the union representing Atlantic City dealers, has joined a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey seeking an injunction to force casinos to end indoor smoking.
ANR, meanwhile, is backing an effort to send a report directly to shareholders of Caesars Entertainment, Bally’s Corporation and Boyd Gaming showing potential cost savings from a smoking ban at their properties.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rejected Caesars’ attempt to dismiss the shareholder proposal.
“The SEC’s denial of Caesars’ attempt to dismiss this proposal confirms that Caesars shareholders will soon vote on the simple request that the company study the business impacts of continuing to allow indoor smoking at their properties,” said Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation (ANRF).
“Many shareholders are learning for the first time that Caesars, Bally’s and Boyd still allow smoking indoors, subjecting the same ‘team members’ they claim to value to toxic air every day. Further, independent research shows smoke-free casinos would attract more customers and thus drive even greater revenue. We will explore every avenue to protect the well-being of workers and patrons, even if casinos won’t do the right thing on their own.”
