Joseph Hafley, a security officer at Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, told lawmakers about the damaging health effects of secondhand smoke. (Kansas Reflector screen grab from Kansas Legislature Youtube page)
TOPEKA — Smoking in a casino is like public urination, one health advocate said, providing lawmakers with a striking analogy as they ponder whether smoking in casinos should be banned for the health of workers and gamblers alike.
“There is no level of safe secondhand smoke,” American Heart Association spokeswoman Kari Rinker told a legislative health committee Wednesday. “It’s akin to saying that you’re going to have a peeing section of the local public swimming pool. This is not a thing.”
Indoor smoking has been prohibited in most public places since 2010, when the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act passed. But casinos remain one of the final ungoverned places, despite warnings from health groups and from casino workers themselves.
Joseph Hafley, a security officer at Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, told lawmakers about the health issues he’s had from working in the smoke-filled environment, including coughing, itching, strep throat and bronchitis. He’s had smoke blown into his face by annoyed guests and dealt with terrible smells from people chain smoking cigars next to him.