142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Should casinos go smoke-free? Why prohibiting smoking may result in a big payoff

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Sunday, November 16, 2014

Karen Palmersheim, PhD, MS, MSW, BS , Center for Urban Initiatives and Research, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Emily Prosser, BS , Center for Urban Initiatives and Research, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Background:  The detrimental effects of exposure to tobacco smoke have been well documented.   Accordingly, comprehensive smoke-free laws have been implemented nationwide in a number of countries, and statewide in 27 states within the U.S., prohibiting smoking in public venues and workplaces, including restaurants and bars.  Casinos, however, have largely been exempt from such laws due to sanctity of the tribes.  Consideration of expanding smoke-free laws to include casinos is complicated, and legitimate concerns include the potential loss in business if casinos were to go smoke-free.

The objective of this study was to examine the current status of casino patronage, and to assess the extent to which the establishment of smoke-free laws might impact patronage.  It was hypothesized that never smokers and former smokers would be more likely to visit casinos if smoke-free policies were implemented.

Methods:  Data were taken from the 2012 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).  Analysis examined how smoking status, alcohol consumption, and demographic factors (age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income) were related to current casino visitation.  Analysis also predicted how these factors might impact casino patronage if casinos were to implement smoke-free policies.

Results:  The findings from this timely and cutting edge research suggest that casinos may in fact benefit from implementing smoke-free policies.  Clearly, never smokers and former smokers are more likely to visit casinos if they go smoke-free.  However, the more interesting findings emanate from the demographic make-up of those more likely to patronize smoke-free casinos, revealing the potential for dramatic increases in casino revenue.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Occupational health and safety
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Explain why the establishment of smoke-free policies in casinos continues to be a controversial topic. Describe factors associated with level of casino visitation. Differentiate how various populations would react to smoke-free policies in casinos. Assess whether smoke-free policies would negatively impact patronage in casinos.

Keyword(s): Public Health Policy, Tobacco Control

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked as a researcher, epidemiologist, program director, and principal investigator in the area of tobacco surveillance and evaluation research for 11 years. I have experience in all aspects of the research process: proposal development, methodological design, literature review, survey instrument construction, data analysis, report and manuscript writing, and presentation of findings to stakeholders and at professional conferences. Much of my work has been conducted in collaboration with the Wisconsin Division of Public Health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2056.0: Tobacco Free Policies & Science on Second- & Third-Hand Smoke