![[CREDIT: Courtesy Photo] Members of Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (C.E.A.S.E. RI) and several unions rallied in the State Capitol May 20 supporting a casino smoking ban bill, which has the support of House Speaker Joe Shekarchi.](https://e8dgfhu6pow.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Casino-Smoking-Ban-Bill-State-House-Rally.jpeg?strip=all&lossy=1&ssl=1)
STATE HOUSE — Members of On line casino Workers In opposition to Smoking Results (C.E.A.S.E. RI) and a number of other unions rallied within the State Capitol rotunda Might 20 supporting a on line casino smoking ban invoice, defending on line casino staff from second-hand smoke well being hazards lengthy exempt from RI’s ban on indoor smoking in businesses and public spaces.
The On line casino Smoking Ban invoice, H 5464, repeals the exemption granted to pari-mutuel (pool betting) services and casinos from the smoke free office requirement and gives for a one time acceptable of $1,000,000 to tell patrons of the smoke-free coverage.
On line casino Smoking Ban Invoice Good points Shekarchi, Chippendale Assist
It’s spearheaded by Rep. Teresa A. Tanzi (D – Dist. 34 Narragansett, SK) and co-sponsored by a number of Home members, together with Home Minority Chief Mike Chippendale, (R – Dist. 40 Coventry, Foster, Glocester) and Home Speaker Joe Shekarchi (D- Dist. 23, Warwick). Shekarchi’s help this 12 months marks the primary time the Warwick rep. has backed the invoice, according to a RI Current report.
Even so, the On line casino Smoking Ban invoice, launched to Home Finance Feb. 12, was held for additional examine April 10.
Bally’s Twin River On line casino in Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton On line casino every have smoking-designated sections separating people who smoke and non-smokers, however such mitigations have been identified to to be ineffective defending individuals from second-hand smoke for the final 20 years, after the discharge of A Surgeon Basic report, ‘The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke,‘ in 2006.
Among the many conclusions of that two-decade-old report was that, “Exposures of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke can’t be managed by air cleansing or mechanical air change,” and likewise that peer reviewed research confirmed smoke-free insurance policies and rules would not have an hostile financial influence on the hospitality business.
Bally’s which opposes the ban, contends that gamblers spend extra in smoking areas, and Rhode Island casinos’ pro-smoking coverage present a bonus over neighboring Connecticut and Massachusetts casinos, the place smoking just isn’t allowed, according to a Casino.org report.
