Press Release - November 18, 2021

Contact: press@no-smoke.org

Berkeley, CA — The Nebraska State Racing and Gaming Commission this week proposed a regulation that would ensure all gaming facilities in the state follow the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act that prohibits smoking indoors. 

“We applaud the Commission for proposing this regulation that will protect the health of employees and visitors at gaming venues across Nebraska,” said Cynthia Hallett, President and CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. “Secondhand smoke kills tens of thousands of Americans each year, and there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure. The good news is that as fewer and fewer people smoke, creating a smokefree entertainment environment is good for business because it attracts people who would otherwise avoid partaking in the experience gaming companies provide.”   

The regulation will be considered during an upcoming public hearing on December 17, 2021. If approved, the package of new rules will go to Governor Pete Ricketts and Attorney General Doug Peterson for final approval. Nebraska is currently one of twelve states that have outlawed smoking and the use of e-cigarettes inside casinos.

More and more casinos nationwide are going smokefree, including Park MGM on the Las Vegas strip. Parx, a Philadelphia area casino, is the highest revenue casino in Pennsylvania and operates smokefree indoors. At least 150 sovereign Tribal gaming venues have implemented 100% smokefree policies during COVID-19, nearly half of all states require commercial casinos to be smokefree indoors, and nearly 1,100 gaming properties do not permit smoking indoors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in March that smokefree casino policies implemented over the last year have been a “silver lining” of the pandemic.

ABOUT AMERICANS FOR NONSMOKERS' RIGHTS 
Americans for Nonsmoker’s Rights (ANR) is a member-supported, non-profit advocacy group that has been working for 45 years, since 1976, to protect everyone’s right to breathe nontoxic air in workplaces and public places, from offices and airplanes to restaurants, bars, and casinos. ANR has continuously shined a light on the tobacco industry’s interference with sound and life-saving public health measures and successfully protected 61% of the population with local or statewide smokefree workplace, restaurant, and bar laws. ANR aims to close gaps in smokefree protections for workers in all workplaces, including bars, music venues, casinos, and hotels. For more information, please visit https://no-smoke.org/ and https://smokefreecasinos.org/.

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