Open Letter Highlights Overwhelming Health Risks, Strong Business Case, and Growing National Momentum for Smokefree Casinos
Berkeley, CA —With Penn Entertainment shareholders preparing to vote next week on a resolution requesting the company evaluate the business benefits of going smokefree, workers at Penn released an open letter urging CEO Jay Snowden to commit to a 100% smokefree indoor policy at all Penn casinos.
“We are part of a growing national movement of casino workers who believe we should not have to choose between our health and our jobs,” writes Joe Hafley, security officer at Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway and founder of CEASE Kansas. He highlights that “secondhand smoke causes lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses,” and cites CDC data showing tens of thousands of nonsmokers die annually due to exposure.
The letter emphasizes that “there is no currently available or reasonably anticipated ventilation or air cleaning system that can adequately control or significantly reduce the health risks of [environmental tobacco smoke] to an acceptable level,” referencing both a 2023 health study and expert guidance from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the leading authority on indoor air quality.
The letter also points to a strong business case for going smokefree. Only 11% of Americans are regular smokers, while a full 75% of American adults—including frequent casino patrons — support smokefree policies. Meanwhile, a recent industry report finds that “non-smoking properties appear to be performing better than their counterparts that continue to allow smoking.”
Momentum for smokefree policies is rising in states across the country, with bipartisan legislation advancing in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and efforts ongoing in Rhode Island and New Jersey.
“Protecting your workers and modernizing your casinos is not just the right thing to do — it’s the smart thing to do,” the letter concludes.
Read the full letter here.
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ABOUT ANRF
Sister organization to Americans for Nonsmoker’s Rights, ANR Foundation (ANRF) is a 501c3 non-profit educational and advocacy group that has been working for nearly 50 years to protect everyone’s right to breathe nontoxic air in workplaces and public places, from offices and airplanes to restaurants, bars, and casinos. ANRF 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. ANRF 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/. ANRF projects include https://smokefreecasinos.org/ and https://smokefreemusiccities.org/.
