Kansas Moves Toward Banning Smoking in Casinos

(AsiaGameHub) –   Concerns that preventing smokers from gambling while they smoke have long maintained a strange loophole in America’s ban on indoor public smoking. Casinos have continued to permit players to smoke cigarettes while gambling, harming the health of employees and other customers.

Kansas Legislation Offers Hope to Health Advocates Seeking to End Indoor Smoking Exemption

Discussion about ending this practice has been intense. Many casinos have been hesitant to take proactive action, worried that patrons would cease visiting. Some have implemented smoking bans without seeing their revenues drop.

Kansas may now be considering following suit broadly, with new legislation – House Bill 2252 – poised to modify the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act and ban smoking in casinos.

Additionally, the amendment aims to prohibit electronic cigarettes and marijuana as well.

Secondhand smoke has emerged as a significant problem nationwide, and advocacy groups argue there is no economic or health rationale for permitting smoking inside casinos, even though smoking sections have been substantially reduced.

Comparable initiatives are underway not just in Kansas, but also in New Jersey, which has emerged as the leading example in the fight against the indoor smoking loophole that permits smoking on casino floors.

Initiatives Continue in New Jersey, Iowa and Other Locations

New Jersey casino employees are once again pushing to eliminate indoor smoking in Atlantic City’s gambling venues, now requesting that the New Jersey Supreme Court determine if the state constitution ensures their right to a safe work environment.

Nevertheless, some attempts have not achieved their intended outcomes. A distinct measure in Iowa failed to pass. Discussion of the matter has been loud and contentious, engaging prominent lawmakers from numerous states, yet none have demonstrated readiness to address it. Senator Tony Bisignano was one of those who opposed the measure, though he claimed smoking would be eliminated “soon.”