Earlier this month, a woman filed a lawsuit against Harrah’s New Orleans Casino after her son died of cancer, which allegedly was directly linked to his exposure to secondhand smoke while he worked as a dealer in Harrah’s for 15 years.
The lawsuit accuses the casino of failing to protect its employees from “dangerous levels of secondhand smoke,” according to The Times-Picayune.
Before I discuss, let’s take a look at the history of the “smoke-free” movement.
In the past few decades, many states have moved to ban smoking in public areas, particularly workplaces and restaurants.
In 1985, Colorado became the first state to ban smoking in restaurants. In the following years, other states joined in on the ban. Louisiana finally made its move in 2007.
That year, Louisiana passed a law prohibiting smoking from all workplaces and restaurants, but the law did not cover bars and casinos.
In 2010, legislation was proposed to extend the smoking ban to include bars and casinos, but it was voted down.
Now back to the Harrah’s lawsuit.
The suit essentially has little merit because smoking is legal in casinos and bars. The lawsuit was probably an attempt by the man’s mother to get money, assuming Harrah’s would settle out of court.
But the whole situation brings up a question: Should smoking be banned in bars and casinos?
Secondhand smoke is classified as a “cancer-causing agent” by the Environmental Protection Agency and is apparently linked to thousands of deaths every year, so you would think it should be banned.
But it seems most people don’t agree, according to a 2010 Gallup survey.
In a poll of 1,020 U.S. adults, Gallup found only 31 percent of people wanted to totally ban smoking in bars, and only 36 percent of people wanted to totally ban smoking from hotels, which are sometimes connected to casinos.
While the numbers to ban smoking completely were low, the survey also gave percentages of people in favor of setting aside areas for smoking. Forty-three percent said they would like to set aside smoking areas in bars, while 58 percent said they wanted the same for hotels.
Overall, the results showed that few people wanted to do away with smoking in public areas altogether.
The survey was a little dated, so I decided to do a survey on 20 people in the Quad. I asked them, “Should smoking be banned in bars?”
Of the people I surveyed, 11 said no, five said yes and four were indifferent.
Hans Weggeman, electrical engineering sophomore, believed smoking should be allowed in bars because it will always be a quintessential part of the atmosphere.
“Smoking and drinking are what makes conversation and ideas go around in bars,” he said. “It’s always been there.”
Another student felt quite differently.
“[Secondhand smoke] is bad for you, and I don’t like smelling like smoke [after a night out],” said Rachel Goodly,
accounting sophomore.
Overall, though, it seems there’s more support to keep smoking in bars.
Of course, it’s generally accepted that secondhand smoke is bad for your health. But that’s probably not stopping anyone from going to bars or casinos.
Regardless of whether they like it or not, people still continue to expose themselves to secondhand smoke’s harms.
It’s simply the price you pay if you want to go out.
Smoking and drinking have gone hand-in-hand for years, and Louisiana is a drinking-friendly state, so it will probably be a while before the state progresses toward an all-out ban on smoking in public areas.
Until then, people have no excuse if they’re harmed by secondhand smoke.
Don’t like it? Don’t go out or go to a bar that’s smoke free. And don’t take jobs that require you to work in a place where it’s legal for patrons to smoke.
Lastly, if you do go to or choose to work in a place full of smoke (while it’s still legal) and you die, make sure your surviving family knows it was not the bar or casino’s fault you died, or any of the smokers present — it was yours.
Chris Grillot is a 19-year-old English and mass communication sophomore from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_cgrillot.
 
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Contact Chris Grillot at [email protected]