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Sunday, September 03,
2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Gimme
Some Air
Gimme Some Air
By Jack Lipsman
Special to the Review-Journal
I propose the creation of a project called "Gimme Some
Air." Funding, if approved, will come from the tobacco
settlement money, which is earmarked for reducing the dangers of
tobacco use. The project will address the problem of second-hand
smoke in Nevada's casinos by educating casino employees about the
dangers of second-hand smoke and by providing a way for casino
players to scream their opposition to the foul stench of the
ubiquitous smoke. Then we will mobilize the population to
"gently" whisper into the ears of our representatives in
Carson City to get them off their collective duffs and ban this
evil toxin from our casinos, something long overdue.
It is mainly the casino dealers and the casino players who
will directly benefit from this new effort, but indirectly all
Nevadans will gain. Dealers and the customers who patronize
Nevada's casinos are being injured every day by the effects of
second-hand smoke. Unfortunately, those who have the ability to
actually control the environment within the casinos are ignoring
the issue. They are willfully and wrongfully misreading and
overlooking the long-term effects of second-hand smoke, not only
in terms of its health impact, but also on its eventual effect on
our future business.
The general public should know that future state revenues
from gaming depend on us maintaining a safe environment in the
casinos. The dangers of second-hand smoke are well known, and --
just as the big tobacco companies were aware of the dangers of
cigarettes and did nothing about it -- the gaming industry knows
this and has an obligation to minimize or eliminate these dangers.
If it does not, it will eventually be on the receiving end of a
huge liability judgment that will shake this industry and all the
inhabitants of this state to its core.
It is difficult to argue that convincing the Legislature to
do the right thing can really be innovative. It could be argued,
however, that the very system of our government that permits its
citizens the right to petition for the resolution of their
grievances, is, in itself, innovative. What is astounding is that
it has taken so long for our government to act on the well-known
dangers now being inflicted on the workers of this state.
This program will motivate us, the citizens of this state,
to pressure our elected officials to change the law and eliminate
second-hand smoke from casinos. We then will be fulfilling our
constitutional mandate in its most basic form. We see this method
as "getting down to the basics," as in Civics 101, and
hope that it will provide other groups championing other just
causes a schematic for change and a call to action.
The very nature of this project underscores one of the two
main purposes of the awarding of tobacco money to the states in
the first place. The first was to direct to the states just
compensation for the costs inflicted upon them by tobacco usage.
The other, and the one we are dealing with in this project, is the
amelioration and limiting of the damage done by tobacco use. The
control and the eventual elimination of second-hand smoke in our
casinos will do exactly that.
NRS 202.2491, which received a very minor face-lift in the
last legislative session, delineates those areas of public
assembly where smoking is not permitted. The only significant
categories of public congregation that are missing are the
casinos. They are not on the list because the casino lobby was
working overtime to make sure they were exempt from the law. It is
no accident that the Legislature bends to the will of the casinos.
This special treatment is a travesty and should not be allowed.
This project will correct this injustice.
We wish to have casinos join the ranks of other businesses
and public entities that are completely smoke-free environments.
Every individual in our society should have the right to breathe
safe, sweet air. That should be our creed.
Jack Lipsman,
retired from the casino industry, directs the National Federation
of Gaming Employees. He writes from Las Vegas.
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