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Smokefree Gaming

With the proliferation of smokefree air laws, smokefree gaming is not far behind. GASP continues to educate the casino industry and public-at-large on the benefits of smokefree casinos. Click here to read the interview, or here to watch the video broadcast on NBC40's website.

Click here for GASP's list of jurisdictions around the world that require smokefree gaming.

Click below to read smokefree gaming information related to each of these topics:

  1. Atlantic City
  2. Air Quality
  3. Health, Safety and Compliance Issues
  4. Public Support
  5. Economic Impact
  6. Proliferation
  7. Legislation
  8. Litigation
  9. Sources for Activism

1. Atlantic City, NJ

On April 30, 2008, the Mayor of Atlantic City signed into law the Atlantic City ordinance that requires 100% smokefree gaming floors where employees work, effective October 15, 2008.

On October 27, 2008 a new Atlantic City ordinance passed that rescinded the smokefree gaming floor ordinance and this took effect on November 16, 2008. The smokefree ordinance was in effect for only one month. For that month, casino workers and patrons reported a high level of gaming activity, revenues were better during that period. Also, New Jersey voters overwhelmingly supported smokefree casinos (autumn 2007, Monmouth University Polling Institute poll results). To view how this history unfolded in Atlantic City, click here.

FYI - As Atlantic City prepared to reverse its smokefree ordinance at that time, the Principality of Monaco went smokefree, including its casinos, on November 1, and a smokefree casino opened in Nevada on November 11, 2008 (click here for the newsclips on the Fernley Nugget).

2. Air quality

  • Hazardous Exposure to Third-hand Smoke

    Thirdhand smoke is beginning to be recognized as a health hazard. Thirdhand smoke is residual secondhand smoke that imbeds into upholstery, rugs, and onto walls, and other surfaces, lingering for weeks. New studies indicate that thirdhand smoke may be more dangerous than secondhand smoke, since thirdhand smoke does not dissipate quickly, and continuously emits respirable particles long after secondhand smoke takes place. Click here to read more about the public health concerns with thirdhand smoke, which effects casino workers and patrons when smoking is allowed.

  • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) releases study on secondhand smoke in Las Vegas Casinos, 5-7-09

NIOSH conducted air testing at three Las Vegas casinos, and biomarker testing of Las Vegas casino employees who work on the smoky gaming floors. NIOSH's Health Hazard Evaluation Report's key recommendation is (on page 21 of the report):

"We recommend eliminating tobacco from the casinos and implementing a smoking cessation program. The casinos should also eliminate smoking near building entrances and air intakes to protect employees from involuntary exposure to ETS. A physician should evaluate employees with respiratory symptoms, especially symptoms related to asthma that are associated with workplace exposures."

Click here if you'd like to read or post a comment on the NIOSH Science Blog on Secondhand Smoke and Casino Dealers.
Click here to read the May 7, 2009 Press of Atlantic City article.
Click here to link to the NIOSH webpage on the study.
Click here to read the full NIOSH report.

  • Additional Supporting Studies

    • A February 2010 air quality study of smoking-permitted bars and restaurants showed hazardous levels of concentrated secondhand smoke being inhaled by workers and patrons. According to Science Daily, the report "Tobacco Smoke Pollution in Oklahoma Workplaces," by the Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center (OTRC), found levels averaging 380 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air) in the restaurant smoking rooms tested, and 655 µg/m3 in the bars. Restaurants with no smoking averaged just 26 µg/m3. The EPA scale ranks outdoor levels of particulate pollution as "unhealthy" at 66-150, "very unhealthy"' at 151-250, and "hazardous" at higher concentrations such as the levels found in the Oklahoma restaurant smoking rooms and bars tested for this report.

    • A February 2010 Stanford University study published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology concluded that secondhand smoke in California’s Native American casinos often exceed concentrations associated with harmful effects. 36 Native American casinos in California were air tested. Results were startling but not unexpected: the air quality levels were similar to those in California bars and restaurants in 2004, prior to banning smoking. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s health-based standard for fine particles is an average of 35 micrograms per cubic meter over a 24-hour period. This concentration level was exceeded in 90 percent of the casinos the researchers visited. The smokiest casino had an average concentration that was 26 times as high as outdoor air. Click here for the CasinoJournal.com newsclip.

    • An August 2009 study by James Repace, air - tested at Pennsylvania casinos, concluded that casinos should not be exempt from smokefree workplace law. The study states that secondhand smoke induced heart disease and lung cancer will cause an estimated 6 Pennsylvania casino workers’ deaths annually per 10000 at risk, which is 5-fold the death rate from Pennsylvania mining disasters. Click here to see the full study as published in the American Journal of Public Health.2009;99:1478–1485.doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.146241.

    • A February 2007 comparative study shows differences in air quality between smokefree Ontario casinos and smoking permitted sections of Rhode Island and Atlantic City casinos. (Note: Testing with 25% of Atlantic City gaming floors smoking permitted as they are today.)

    • A November 2006 New Jersey Air Monitoring Study, post-New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act (excluding the casinos):
    • A November 2005 New Jersey Air Monitoring Study, pre-New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act (excluding the casinos):
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3. Health, Safety and Compliance Issues

Health and Safety

"Arizona’s statewide smoking ban decreased hospital admissions for AMI, stroke, asthma, and angina" is the conclusion of a study by the University of Arizona which examined the impact of Arizona’s May 2007 comprehensive statewide smoking ban. Click here to read the study that was published May 13, 2010 in the American Journal of Public Health.

On August 4, 2009, ASH Australia and the SmokeFree Australia workplace coalition of employee and health groups published a Briefing Paper to Australian governments on why all gambling areas should be 100% smokefree, both indoors and outside.

US Surgeon General's 2006 report:

Secondhand smoke increases miscarriage risk

Health impacts of SHS exposure among London casino workers

Nevada study links casino smoke, DNA damage:

American Gaming Association acknowledges 2006 Surgeon General's report

Health improves in smokefree environments:

Hazards using portable oxygen in smoking-permitted places.

Nonsmoking casino patrons and visitors may use portable medical oxygen in public places, like a casino. By allowing smoking and lighted cigarettes on a gaming floor near portable oxygen use, casinos create a potentially hazardous and deadly environment.Casinos may need to reasonably accommodate several categories of breathing-disabled patrons, and provide a 100% smokefree casino that is free of environmental and safety hazards. Click here to learn more about the hazards of smoking near the operation of portable oxygen equipment.

Casinos may need to reasonably accommodate several categories of breathing-disabled patrons, and provide a 100% smokefree casino that is free of environmental and safety hazards:

(1) A person on portable oxygen may be classified as breathing-disabled (chronic asthma, COPD, cardiac condition), and thus require a reasonable accommodation of a 100% smokefree casino.
(2) A person (breathing, cardiac conditions, etc.) whose disability is adversely affected by secondhand smoke may qualify as breathing-disabled, and require a reasonable accommodation of a 100% smokefree casino.
(3) A person may also qualify temporarily as disabled, such as asthmatic or COPD onset due to secondhand smoke exposure, and need an accommodation of a 100% smokefree environment in a public place, such as a casino.
(4) Taking medications help to mitigate a disabling condition, no longer disqualifies a person from being qualified as disabled, since the underlying medical condition continues to exist.

Compliance

The casinos in PA are supposed to be 50% smokefree, but there appears to be no enforcement or any rules around the proximity of the smoking vs. non-smoking areas, as identified in this May 12 article by Inquirer columnist. Monica Yant Kinney. Also, click here to read her May 26 article interviewing unfortunate casino workers in both NJ and PA who still are forced to tolerate smoking at their workplace.

Media reports on non-compliance in smoking-prohibited areas:

Borgata Casino's online job description of the job requirements for a pit service rep, includes that employees will be subject to "exposure to casino related environmental factors including but not limited to second hand smoke". secondhand smoke.

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4. Public Support

Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist, Monica Yant Kinney, wrote four columns in support of her concerns with smoking in the casinos:

  • “Smokefree a Smart Gamble” (June 6, 2010) Excerpt: "Eighty percent of the population doesn't smoke, so why not cater to the majority? … Isn't that a better business model?", states a gambler.
  • “Job Opportunities with a Cloudy Future” (May 26, 2010). Excerpt: "I'd like to see Donald Trump sit in his office and have six people blow smoke at him for eight hours a day, five days a week," challenges Karen Blumenfeld, of Global Advisors on Smokefree Policy, an advocacy group aptly nicknamed GASP. "Let's do a test, see how long he lasts. I guarantee he'd ban smoking in his casinos after one day."

  • “Is the Fix in for Casino Smoking?” (May 16, 2010) Excerpt: “Curious about the dramatic stats, State Rep. Curt Schroder (R., Chester), the minority chair of the Gaming Oversight Committee, paid a reconnaissance visit to Harrah's in Chester. He found higher-stakes roulette and blackjack machines exclusively for smokers - some betting $15 a hand. Lower-stake slots permeated the smoke-free zone. “This," Schroder wrote casino operators, "causes me to ask whether, in fact, machines were arranged on your floor to guarantee an outcome that would allow you to request a larger smoking area."

  • "Casinos and Regulators Blind to Smoking Rules" (May 12, 2010) Excerpt: "A Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board spokesman contends that enforcing the clean-air law in casinos falls to the Department of Health. The Health Department insists that task belongs to the gaming board."

Click here to read the NJ Star-Ledger's October 21, 2009 editorial in support of 100% smokefree casinos in Atlantic City.

In September, 2008, The Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority released their 2008 Atlantic City Visitors Profile Study. Click here to read the Executive Summary. Click here for the full report. Key findings are:

  • Nonsmokers spend more money in Atlantic City than smokers based on a median amount ($500 for nonsmoker vs. $469 for smoker).
  • Only approximately 23% of gamblers smoke, which is in-line with other surveys done in Nevada and Australia, and in-line with the percentage of the adult population that smoke in general. The casinos have claimed much higher numbers, but that claim is not consistent with the results of the ACCVA survey.
  • A nonsmoking environment ranked 4th for reasons to visit Atlantic City. Gambling ranked lower at 7th.

New Jersey voters overwhelmingly support smokefree casinos (autumn 2007, Monmouth University Polling Institute):

Support for smokefree New Jersey casinos by potential patrons, survey by ICR (international market research organization):

Read the descriptions of poor air-quality conditions documented from casino workers and patrons in many letters sent to NJ key legislators; go to www.smokefree.net/nj and click on "see letters already sent".

7,000 petition signatures for smokefree casinos are on www.smokefreecasinos.com.

80% of regular gamblers want smokefree gaming; 5% increase in patronage is indicated (2006 survey of 3,000 Australians):

On February 15, 2007, syndicated columnist Steve Adubato, Ph.d, wrote a column to support 100% smokefree gaming floors, subsquent to Atlantic City's City Council passing their ordinance that permits smoking on up to 25% of the gaming floor. Click here to read, "A 75 Percent 'Smoke Free Zone' in Casinos?Only in New Jersey.

Resolutions by New Jersey municipal governments supporting smokefree casinos

Population data

Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry is voluntarily embracing 100% smokefree properties. Click here for the November 18, 2008 USA today article on the trend for 100% smokefree hotels and resorts.

Click here for a July 2006 survey by JD Power and Associates, which found that 79 percent of 46,000 hotel guests surveyed prefer a smoke-free environment beyond their guest room.

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5. Economic Impact

  • 100% smokefree Illinois law, which included gaming venues, had a substantial positive effect on casino revenues. The law "arrested the decline that had started two years earlier. The smokefree casino law was associated with about a $130 million increase in revenues." Click here to read the University of California, San Francisco statistical analysis, dated May 5, 2010.
  • Atlantic City casino revenue comparisons for smokefree month (Oct 15 - Nov 15, 2008). Table games and slot revenues dropped more in September and December when smoking was permitted, vs. October and November when smoking not permitted. Monthly revenue loss was less in October and November, than September and December, compared with monthly revenues from 2007. Click here to see the summary of 2008 monthly casino revenues, as reported by NJ Casino Control Commission.

  • Conclusions and overviews of economic data by governments and governmental authorities

The 2007 World Health Organization's Policy Recommendations on protection from exposure to secondhand tobacco smokefree concludes:

  • "Smoke-free laws are popular, enforceable and have no effect or have a positive impact on business." (pg. 17)
  • "Not a single study using objective data and sound research methodology has found an overall negative impact of smoke-free legislation association." (pg. 34)

U.S. Surgeon General's Report, 2006

New Jersey Office of Revenue and Economic Analysis, report to the New Jersey Treasurer

Delaware Governor Minner, letter about impact of state smokefree air law on businesses, casinos

Economic facts of smokefree gambling (approximately 5 pages), New Jersey GASP

Trends in Smokefree Gaming, New Jersey GASP

  • Empirical studies

Smokefree law did not affect revenue from gaming in Delaware (Mandel, Alamar, Glantz in Tobacco Control, 2005)

Majority of gamblers are nonsmokers:

"Smoking rates among gamblers at Nevada casinos mirror U.S. smoking rate", Tobacco Control, February, 2008

December 2006 study by University of Nevada:

80% of regular gamblers want smokefree gaming; 5% increase in patronage is indicated (2006 survey of 3,000 Australians):

A 2008 JD Power and Associates survey showed that 85% of Southern California gamblers that go to tribal casinos prefer smokefree casinos. Click here for a copy of the press release.

PricewaterhouseCoopers report for Casino Association of New Jersey:

Claims that the Delaware Clean Indoor Air Act reduced gaming income:

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6. Proliferation of Smokefree Casinos
With the proliferation of jurisdications including gaming venues in their smokefree air laws, NJ GASP Executive Director, Karen Blumenfeld, Esq., has published three articles in the Gaming Industry Observer:
  • Click here to read the front page article "Smokefree gaming spreads through states, countries; Poor economy tempers trend" from September 28, 2009.
  • Click here to read the May 19, 2008 article, "Smart operators will find the silver (or platinum) lining of smokefree casinos," that was distributed at the East Coast Gaming Congress in May 2008, in Atlantic City.
  • Click here to read, "As smoke clears, casinos can see path to new profitability," published July 30, 2007 on page 7 of the publication.
    These article links are republished by NJ GASP with permission of the Gaming Industry Observer and cannot be reproduced or distributed.

To learn how you can make a difference, visit our Action Alert page.

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7. Legislation

On January 10, 2009, the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States overwhelmingly passed a resolution to promote and support 100% smokefree gaming. the resolution was offered by NJ GASP. Click here to read the press release. Click here to read the resolution.

North American jurisdictions with legislation requiring smokefree gaming

Global alphabetical list of jurisdictions with legislation requiring smokfree gaming

Global regional list of jurisdictions with legislation requiring smokfree gaming

Casinos smokefree by law or voluntarily (from Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights)

Atlantic City municipal ordinance regulating smoking in casinos

Air quality in casinos currently configured as required in the Atlantic City ordinance (news release and charts)

Using local laws to enhance and augment the New Jersey Smoke Free Air Act

8. Litigation

Section on "litigation" from Economic Facts of Smokefree Gaming by New Jersey GASP (or to see the whole five-page document, click here)

Section on "Lawsuits by Casino Workers" from Trends in Smokefree Gaming by New Jersey GASP (or to see the whole 17-page document, click here)

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9. Other sources for help and activism

Other sources for information on smokefree gaming

TobaccoScam.org provides empirical data debunking tobacco industry claims and discusses ties to abuse of the U.S. hospitality industry. The site is created by the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education.

Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights: click here to see their section on casinos and gambling

www.smokefreecasinos.com, Atlantic County, created by activists and casino workers and patrons, has information and an on-line petition (No longer updated since Atlantic City's casinos go smokefree on October 15, 2008.)

www.smokefreegaming.org a grass-roots coalition of Colorado residents and workers

To communicate your support for 100% smokefree casinos:

To write a letter to be faxed to key New Jersey state legislators, go to www.smokefree.net/nj.

To find your legislators, use your local library or go to www.njleg.state.nj.us, in the left hand column, under members, click on "find your legislator".

To thank the Atlantic City Council and Mayor Langford for the smokefree casino ordinance that took effect on October 15, 2008 and to proclaim your displeasure with taking the ordinance away:

  • you can write a letter online, that will be faxed to the Atlantic City Council President Marsh, at www.smokefree.net/ac.

  • you can contact Council President William Marsh at City Hall, 1301 Bacharach Blvd., Atlantic City, NJ 08401; fax 609 347-9476; phone 609 347-5257; email, wmarsh@cityofatlanticcity.org.

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updated January 15, 2010

This information is created by the Tobacco Control Policy and Legal Resource Center of New Jersey GASP, which provides expert information, guidance, and technical assistance about policy, legislation, and litigation, especially regarding smokefree air. Major funding for this service is provided by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJ DHSS).The information presented on this website is not intended as, nor to be construed, or used, as legal advice, and should not be used to replace the advice of your legal counsel.