United States Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) represents one among 15 states the place business casinos proceed to permit indoor tobacco use. Her feedback final week suggesting that right now’s casinos have state-of-the-art air flow techniques which have made indoor smoking extra acceptable have been shortly pushed again on by a number one public well being group.
U.S. Rep. Dina Titus speaks at a dialogue on playing in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. Titus stated in the course of the occasion that on line casino air flow techniques have helped restrict secondhand smoke. (Picture: Semafor)
Titus was in Washington, DC, final Thursday for an occasion titled, “Betting on the Way forward for Gaming.” The dialogue was hosted by information outlet Semafor and sponsored by the American Gaming Affiliation (AGA).
Titus, who represents Nevada’s First Congressional District that features Clark County and Las Vegas, stated in her state, casinos extremely regulate themselves and are proactive in taking steps to guard each employees and patrons.
In case you go wherever on the Strip, they’ve the very newest know-how. It’s not the low ceiling, old-time locations which are so smoky. Even among the slot machine banks have filters on the facet that suck out the dangerous air,” Titus answered about efforts to ban on line casino smoking.
When pressed about whether or not she hears from constituents about on line casino smoking issues, Titus, who chairs the Congressional Gaming Caucus, stated such remarks are uncommon.
“Effectively, not currently due to all the enhancements that [casinos] have made,” Titus stated.
Clear Air Group Responds
People for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) issued an announcement condemning Titus’ remarks.
“Given the assist for smoke-free casinos from patrons, working individuals, public well being officers, and the general public at giant, we encourage Rep. Titus to assist her constituents and use her position because the Congressional Gaming Caucus chair to push the trade to finish this outdated enterprise apply,” stated ANR President and CEO Cynthia Hallett.
Hallett cited feedback from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, whose members design on line casino air flow techniques, that the gaming trade’s claims that such airflow mechanisms don’t absolutely take away carcinogens from secondhand smoke.
The engineers who design air flow techniques have repeatedly instructed casinos to cease claiming that they defend employees and visitors from harmful secondhand smoke. These techniques take away odor, not carcinogens,” Hallett added.
Titus did say that “secondhand smoke is definitely one thing to take into accounts.” She reasoned that if the Culinary Union, the biggest commerce group representing on line casino employees in Nevada, needs to remove smoking, the group possible has the political clout to “discover some motion.”
Secondhand Smoke Is aware of No Bounds
The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) agreed final 12 months with Hallett’s contentions that air flow techniques aren’t efficient in eradicating secondhand smoke from indoor locations.
The federal well being company wrote in a report titled, “What Occurs in Vegas, Stays in Your Lungs,” that scientific research of air high quality in casinos the place smoking is allowed discovered elevated ranges of Particulate Matter (PM). Particularly, the CDC examined for aerosol PM with a diameter <2.5 µm, which the company says is a provider for secondhand smoke.
The CDC exams carried out inside Las Vegas casinos with smoking and nonsmoking sections discovered a median PM2.5 stage of 165 μg/m3, far above the 30 μg/m3 charge that the company says is taken into account wholesome with little to no threat of secondhand smoke publicity. The CDC added that common PM2.5 ranges of 83 μg/m3 have been detected in gaming areas supposedly smoke-free.
Nevada is one among solely eight states the place casinos can allow indoor smoking wherever on their gaming flooring. The CDC says solely 100% smoke-free casinos adequately safeguard employees and patrons from secondhand smoke.
