Even after a casino bans smoking, the toxic residue often remains for months, according to a study conducted by a psychology professor at San Diego State University. The study was published in Tobacco Journal.
According to the study by author Georg Matt, “Casinos are unusual environments because of the amount of smoking that takes place 24/7 over long periods of time.” He added, “Over years of smoking, layers of smoke residue stick to surfaces and penetrate deep into materials.”
Matt’s research suggests that casinos ban smoking sooner rather than later to avoid these effects, which have been dubbed “third-hand smoke.” These effects are detrimental to staff and regular guests.
Matt did the study on a casino near Redding, California. The casino, which opened in 1993, banned smoking for 11 months in 2014. It later removed the ban. Surface areas were sampled in several parts of the casino—before the ban, and several times during the ban. Although the third-hand smoke levels diminished significantly after six months in carpets and walls, they were still higher than in area where smoking was never allowed.
Matt said nonsmokers were more at risk from the third-hand smoke in the casino than they would have been at the home of smoker.
