Casinos, Smoking Bans, and Revenues: A Survey of Casino Gamblers in Illinois

Abstract

In 2006, the U.S. Surgeon General released The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, which was a comprehensive review of research on the health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS). The report defines secondhand smoke as ‘‘a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of tobacco products (sidestream smoke) and the mainstream smoke exhaled by smokers.’’ The report estimates that 123 million people in the United States are regularly exposed to second hand smoke at home, in the workplace, and in other public places such as bars, restaurants, and recreation venues. The report concludes unequivocally that ‘‘inhaling secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and coronary heart disease in nonsmoking adults’’ and that ‘‘smoke free environments are the most effective method for reducing exposure’’ (quoted in ‘‘Message,’’ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2006). However, U.S. smoking prohibitions are a bewildering patchwork of state and local laws. A total of 3,964 municipalities in the United States have laws restricting smoking in public places. Some of these laws prohibit smoking in all non-hospitality workplaces, while some extend smoking bans to restaurants, or even to restaurants and bars. It is estimated that these laws currently protect 49.1 percent of the U.S. population from exposure to secondhand smoke (ANRF 2014a). A few states have extended smoking prohibitions to state-regulated gambling facilities, but most commercial casinos and racinos are at least partially exempt from smoking prohibitions, while Indian casinos are outside the jurisdiction of state regulation due to tribal sovereignty. However, despite the documented health effects of SHS on casino employees and patrons, the gaming industry has generally joined with Big Tobacco to oppose such bans or to at least seek exemptions from them (Dearlove, Bialous, and Glantz 2002; Mandel and Glantz 2004) based on the claim that smoking bans result in a decline in gross gaming revenues and, therefore, declines in the gaming taxes collected by states. Moreover, the casino industry has generally been quite successful in securing exemptions from public smoking prohibitions even in cases where these prohibitions have otherwise been extended to other segments of the hospitality industry (e.g., restaurants and bars). Yet, in 2012, 76.1 million adults—or 34 percent of the U.S. adult population—visited casinos, and these visits potentially represent a significant health hazard for the large majority of those visitors who are non-smokers. This risk is even higher for the 661,000 casino employees, who spend several hours per day exposed to secondhand smoke (AGA 2013, 2; Meister 2013, 75 for employment estimates). Consequently, despite the industry’s vigorous opposition to an extension of smoking bans to gaming floors, by 2014, there were 113 smokefree commercial casinos and racinos in nine states and an additional 83 smoke-free tribal casinos