A bill that would prohibit smoking on gaming floors in Iowa advanced from a House subcommittee Tuesday, though a Senate version of the bill failed to advance.
House File 781 would remove an exemption from Iowa’s Smokefree Air Act, that allows smoking on gaming floors in the state.
Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, said she formerly worked in casinos and bars and restaurants that allowed smoking and remembers leaving clothes and shoes “at the garage door” to keep the house from “smelling like an ashtray.” She said removing this exemption has been a priority of hers for more than 10 years.
“If filtration systems and air systems work, then why didn’t we let everybody do that? And if nonsmoking sections worked, which we had them in restaurants, why didn’t we let people continue that way?” Lundgren said. “It’s time, with cancer rates the way that they are in the state of Iowa, it is time to move this forward and protect those employees over profits, which I don’t think are going to drop anyway.”
Lobbyists representing the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association and the Iowa Nurses Association said there is “no safe level” of secondhand smoke and argued the bill protects casino workers.
“If Iowa is serious about addressing our high cancer rates, tobacco control needs to be a part of that equation.”Jackie Cale, with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Jackie Cale, with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, noted that Iowa has the second-highest rate of cancer in the country. According to the Iowa Cancer Registry, lung cancer incidence rates are declining slower in Iowa than in other states. Tobacco use and radon exposure are the top risk factors for lung cancer.
“If Iowa is serious about addressing our high cancer rates, tobacco control needs to be a part of that equation,” Cale said in the subcommittee.
Mary Earnhardt with the Iowa Gaming Association said Iowa casinos have invested “millions” in air filtration and ventilation systems over the years to help manage air quality in the facilities.
She said Iowa casinos operate in a “highly competitive environment” between one another, establishments in neighboring states and with casinos owned by tribal nations – which are exempt from state smoking laws.
“Eliminating Iowa’s gaming floor smoking exemption would create an uneven regulatory treatment among competitors operating in the same markets, both within Iowa and across state lines,” Earnhardt said.
Jake Highfill, on behalf of Penn Entertainment and Ameristar, said the bill creates a “competitive disadvantage” for casinos and he clarified everywhere but the gaming floors at Ameristar casinos are smoke-free environments.
Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines and Rep. David Young, R-Van Meter, also voted in favor of the bill. Baeth, who is a physician, said the policy was “long overdue.”
Lundgren, who owns a restaurant, said it is a “ridiculous notion” to ignore the fact that bars and restaurants were affected by Iowa’s indoor smoking ban in 2008.
“If it’s good for one, it should be good for all,” Lundgren said. "I’ve been very supportive of the casinos, but I think it’s time to level the playing field.”
A Senate subcommittee chose to not advance a similar bill at the end of January, as one senator said the bill would not “go anywhere” past the subcommittee as part of his explanation for voting against the bill.
Lundgren said she has the votes to get the bill out of committee and off the floor in the House.
“I think we have to speak for the 4,000 casino employees in the state of Iowa that don’t have a choice,” Lundgren said.
