The Days of Smoking in Iowa Casinos Could Be Coming to an End

Maybe it's the fact that I grew up around a lot of relatives who smoked, or even because I casually smoked in college, but there's something about a casino that makes me want to light up. Furthermore, after moving to Iowa, and seeing every slot machine come equipped with an ashtray, and people smoking indoors, I still can't help but feel like... it's illegal? It doesn't feel right with the increasing restrictions on smoking in the last two decades.

That said, a bill that's currently making its way through the Iowa House is one step closer to making smoking cigarettes in casinos illegal. Despite failing in the Senate, a House subcommittee advanced House File 781, which would remove an exemption from Iowa's Smokefree Air Act, which permits smoking on gaming floors in the state of Iowa.

READ MORE: New Iowa Bill Would Turn Down the Volume on TV Commercials

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The Latest on Smoking in Iowa Casinos Potentially Coming to an End:

Rep. Shannon Lundgren (R-Peosta) is a former employee at casinos and bars that allowed smoking. Per KCRG, she recalled "smelling like an ashtray" when she'd return home, and getting this legislation past has been a personal priority of hers for over a decade:

If filtration systems and air systems work, then why didn’t we let everybody do that? And if nonsmoking sections worked, which we had them in restaurants, why didn’t we let people continue that way?. It’s time, with cancer rates the way that they are in the state of Iowa, it is time to move this forward and protect those employees over profits, which I don’t think are going to drop anyway - Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, per KCRG

Lobbyists for the American Cancer Society Action Network, the American Heart Association, and the Iowa Nurses Association all conclude that there is "no safe level" of secondhand smoke. This bill would protect nonsmokers, casino workers, and communities alike.

Casinos Have Invested in Air Filtration Systems:

Conversely, Mary Earnhardt with the Iowa Gaming Association argues that casinos have invested millions of dollars in air filtration and ventilation systems over the years to try and keep the smell of cigarette smoke muted for those who do not smoke. She adds the "highly competitive environment" between casinos across the state would make other venues, like out-of-state casinos and those owned by tribal nations (which are exempt from state smoking laws), more attractive should it become illegal to smoke in Iowa casinos:

Eliminating Iowa’s gaming floor smoking exemption would create an uneven regulatory treatment among competitors operating in the same markets, both within Iowa and across state lines - Mary Earnhardt of the Iowa Gaming Association, per KCRG

Then you consider the fact that in 2008 it became illegal to smoke inside restaurants, even in once-designated "nonsmoking sections," and wonder if the playing field should be level. The next step is to get the bill out of the committee and off the House floor. Lundgren stated that she has enough votes to do just that. Read more about a bill that could make smoking in Iowa casinos illegal on KCRG's website.