I was sticking UP for you to that other guy! I added your name so you wouldn't miss me sticking up for you. 
Posted on 09/24/2002 4:22:36 PM PDT by SheLion
LAS VEGAS - Perhaps the biggest threat to growth in the U.S. casino industry comes not from antigambling interests, but from health-conscious public officials.
A group that sets the country's indoor air-quality standards is under "enormous" pressure to make casinos and other hospitality venues smoke-free, an expert warned attendees at the Global Gaming Expo on Thursday.
"With the collapse of the tobacco industry, (?) the hospitality industry is next to come under attack," said Elia Sterling, president of Theodor Sterling Associates, an indoor air-quality firm based in Vancouver, B.C.
If the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers, or ASHRAE, were to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for smoke particles, casinos could lose billions in revenue, according to legislative analyst Wayne Mehl of the American Gaming Association.
Forty percent to 50 percent of casino gamblers are smokers, about double the percentage of the U.S. population as a whole, Mehl said. A 1993 gaming-industry study showed that Nevada casinos alone would have lost $1 billion in revenue if casinos were forced to go smoke-free.
"It's not just the loss of customers, but also the loss of gambling time - 12 percent less time for smokers. They would spend that time going out for a smoke," Mehl said.
Of course the casino industry is concerned about the effects of second-hand smoke on its employees, Mehl said, but Thursday's panel discussion was all about the bottom line.
The industry will get a glimpse of the possible future beginning Nov. 27, when the three Delaware racetracks become the first casino jurisdiction to go smoke-free as part of a broader state law.
"There's a lot of talk about how much (gaming-tax) revenue the state will lose, and not only that, but jobs, too," said Don Johnson, deputy director of the Delaware State Lottery, which controls the racetrack slot-machine operations.
Delaware officials have been in touch with counterparts in Australia, where every gaming establishment was required to provide a smoke-free gaming area by Sept. 1. Johnson said he was told that the Australian smoking ban caused a sharp decrease in casino revenue initially but that business is beginning to recover.
At issue for U.S. casinos is ASHRAE Standard 62-1999, which governs how casinos, restaurants, bars and lounges filter and dilute their air to control tobacco particles, tobacco odor and body odor.
"It's intended to accommodate smoking in buildings," Sterling said. "This ASHRAE standard is a practical standard and is working well in the field."
For example, he said, the lavish Bellagio casino hotel here "provides better air quality indoors than you'll find outdoors."
Special interests, however, are aggressively pushing for standards so tight they "would effectively ban smoking in the hospitality industry," Sterling said.
ASHRAE (which conveniently rhymes with ashtray) is a 108-year-old non-government trade group of indoor-air specialists whose standards governance has been taken over by public funding and public officials, Sterling said. Today, the group's standards committee is chaired by an official from the Environmental Protection Agency and has only two representatives from the hospitality industry, he said.
"They're in the process of adopting a zero-tolerance approach to tobacco smoke. One molecule of tobacco smoke is unacceptable," Sterling said. "The debate is clearly not about health as it is about social engineering to denormalize smoking."
Matthew Iandoli, a Washington-based lobbyist and lawyer, said the Hospitality Coalition on Indoor Air Quality is trying to pre-empt the proposed new rules by adopting its own guidelines for smoke and ventilation. The group's members include the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, which represents more than 14,000 Atlantic City casino workers, and the Nevada Resort Association, which represents the gaming industry here.
Iandoli warned that any action, or non-action, by the hospitality industry could expose it to substantial legal damages.
"Trial lawyers are trying to find that avenue, trying to find that chink in the armor where they can pursue those class-action lawsuits," he said. "If the ASHRAE standard goes forward, that will be the point at which the lawyers will try to show that the casino industry has harmed its employees."
From the casinos' point of view, Mehl said, the "ideal" solution to shielding employees and customers from smoke is a combination of effective ventilation and smoke-free areas.
To e-mail Joe Weinert at The Press:
JWeinert@pressofac.com
And if that was what was happening we could vote with our feet.
However, the government IS getting involved, both through outright bans and through taxes, and THAT is what is getting so many of us here so riled up.
You are off the post topic. The post was about attendance in casinos and the smell of foul smoke drives people away. NOT the health effects.
It all comes back to the health effects, to which there is nil.
Most non-smokers we know hang out with smokers, and could care less. Plus, the Casinos in Las Vegas have huge smoke eaters. You have to even look to see if anyone is smoking. The smoke eaters remove all traces of smoke and/or body odor. The days of the smokey back rooms are gone.
But still, the sight of a cigarette is enough to set some people off for some reason or another. And what about all the business that have closed because they were forced to go smoke-free? I still believe government intervention is wrong!
Most non-smokers hang out with non-smokers and do care! Do smokers not care that they stink to most of the population!
Why do you insist on chipping away at me? You don't have to be around us and we aren't around you. Why don't you move on to something where you will be more productive.
I thought Conservatives were supposed to work together to make things comfortable for everyone? Why are you in here if you continually wish to impose your views on other people who really could care less.
We smoke, we vote, we are mothers, fathers, Viet Nam Vets, sisters and brothers. I don't know why you bring your hate in here. This IS a Conservative forum, not an hate filled anti smoking basher site.
If you want to spew your hate for smokers, I suggest you go to the Yahoo Chatrooms.
I was sticking UP for you to that other guy! I added your name so you wouldn't miss me sticking up for you.
After 83 years of doing exactly what he wanted to do. He didn't spend another 10 years lying around in diapers wondering who all those people around him were while his heart and lungs just kept on working.
I could agree with you, but the proof is in the pudding, here in Ottawa only 25% of the population smokes, August a year ago the City brought in a total smoking ban, contrary to your claim, business did not pick up again........ politicians are still pleading with non-smokers to please go out more, these are the non-smokers stating they would go out a lot more often, if restaurants and bars were smoke free.
Smokers don't make things comfortable for everyone and they not only impose their views but also the results of their habits on other people. Casinos stink even with the ventilation and you're correct...I do stay away from them.
You forgot to mention that good old Frank was in his eighties, at that age something is going to get you, must admit, I don't remember how old Sammy was.
I don't know where you live that your exposed to cigarette smoke. But yes, you do have the right to refrain from going anywhere that makes you uncomfortable.
If your unhappy, why don't you approach the owner and suggest he go smoke free. See what his response would be to that. I think everyone should have a choice in this matter. But it should be made by the owner and not Big Government.
My statement has nothing to do with my opinion, I live in a City with total ban, it has been in effect for well over a year, business has not recovered, and the politicians are still wringing their hands.
You and I are in total agreement here. I am constantly telling people if they don't like it talk with the owner, instead of the government. I actually had one anti tell me that is just what he/she did but the owner wouldn't change the policy. so what did this person do, instead of finding another place to patronize, they contcted the local politicians to try and have it forced on everyone.
I have a very hard time with people who feel the government is the answer to all their problems. It has been my experience that when the government starts micro-managing all it does is cause more problems.
Well, I watched a Documentary a week ago about Las Vegas. They tried to make it Family Friendly, but the adults were tired of tripping over kids and strollers. They brought back the stippers with a vengence, and it's back to Adults only Sin City.
And did you read that if the Casinos don't go along with this, they will be in court? Sounds like a lot of strong arming going on, IMHO.
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