Don’t bring smoking back to casinos

According to the National Cancer Institute, “Secondhand smoke has 250 chemicals known to be harmful and at least 69 chemicals known to cause cancer. Inhaling secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in nonsmoking adults and there is no level of second hand smoke considered to be safe.”

The Illinois State House doesn’t seem to care about those facts as they recently passed a bill, headed to the Senate, which would again allow smoking inside the casinos. The casinos have convinced them that the anti-smoking bill was the sole reason for the decline in business, as if that should even matter in their vote.

In passing the bill, neither the casinos nor the Illinois House seemed to care about the adverse effect smoking will have on casino employees and the 80 percent of customers who do not smoke (an American Gaming Association estimate.) And, they’re underestimating the loss of customers who would stop patronizing the casinos if smoking was reintroduced.

After a long uphill battle to do the right thing and a transition period where smokers made the adjustment, we’re moving in the wrong direction again and, more importantly, for the wrong reasons.

I trust the Illinois Senate will make the right decision and kill this bill. It is unfortunate they even have to consider it.

Tom Franzak

Hoffman Estates