Innovative approaches towards achieving smoke-free tribal casinos

Tribally owned casinos are one of the last public spaces of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure for employees and patrons in California. Innovative approaches to tobacco control and research efforts need to be considered when working in tribally owned casinos. Details on three approaches, including pros and cons, will be presented. ETR Associate's California's Clean Air Project (CCAP) and USC's Unidos en Casinos are two tobacco control projects employing different approaches toward moving tribal casino management and tribal leadership to smokefree casinos. CCAP's collaborative approach focuses on working with casino managers to move towards adopting and implementing voluntary smoke-free policies, this includes conducting air monitoring and surveying the clientele via mail. Unidos en Casinos approach focuses directly on labor by identifying unique ways to working with Latino workers in tribal casinos. The third approach is an ethnographic study being conducted by Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation and ETR Associates to better understand the process and practices of public health policy implementation that are culturally acceptable and business sensitive in tribal casinos.