Colorado Casinos Safer After Smoke-Free Law
Research Shows Air Quality Improvement in Casinos’ First Smoke-Free Month
February
25, 2008—Denver—On Jan. 1, 2008, Colorado casinos went
smoke-free, and already the significant health impacts felt
by casino employees and guests can
be measured. A recent study by the State Tobacco Education &
Prevention
Partnership, which is based at the Colorado Department of
Public Health
and Environment, found that air pollution in casinos has
improved by 92
percent since the casinos became smoke-free under the
Colorado Clean
Indoor Air Act last month. Before Colorado casinos went
smoke-free, casino employees and patrons
were exposed to an “unhealthy” level of indoor air pollution
according to EPA ratings, meaning that everyone in the venue
could
experience harmful health effects from secondhand smoke.
Some
establishments monitored in the study showed indoor air
pollutant levels
to be twice as harmful as the worst outdoor air quality
measurements
detected in Denver by the Regional Air Quality Council. With
the
improvement in air quality over the last month, casinos now
have an EPA
rating of “good,” joining Colorado restaurants and bars that
also
saw vast improvements after the smoke-free law’s
implementation. “This study confirms how quickly and
effectively the Colorado Clean
Indoor Air Act can help protect the health of workers and
customers,”
said Dr. Ned Calonge, chief medical officer of the Colorado
Department
of Public Health and Environment. “We know that secondhand
smoke
causes about 53,000 deaths a year in the United States. With
the
smoke-free law and the help of Colorado’s casinos, we are
working to
decrease the number of such deaths in our state.” The
effects of secondhand smoke no longer are in doubt. In 2006,
the
Surgeon General issued a report that concludes there is no
risk-free
level of exposure to secondhand smoke and that only
eliminating smoking
in indoor places protects nonsmokers from exposure.
The Colorado study was prepared in January 2008 by the
Tobacco Program
Evaluation Group. To complete the study, researchers used
the TSI
SidePak AM510 Personal Aerosol Monitor, which measures the
level of
respirable suspended particles in the air. It collects an
air sample
every second and then calculates the average pollution level
per
minute. On July 1, 2006, Colorado became the 13th state to
enact a smoke-free
law. To date, 22 other states, Washington D.C. and Puerto
Rico have
passed similar ordinances that enable their citizens to live
and work in
healthy environments, free from the effects of secondhand
smoke.
Currently, only one in six Colorado adults smoke, and
only 15 percent
of women in Colorado smoke. Colorado now ranks 9th in the
nation for the
lowest prevalence of adult smoking. ABOUT STEPP
The State Tobacco Education & Prevention Partnership (STEPP)
leads
Colorado’s fight against tobacco caused death, disease and
economic
burden by mobilizing organizations and individuals to work
together to
support tobacco-free lifestyles and environments. STEPP and
its partners
provide programs and policies that are comprehensive,
evidence-based,
culturally appropriate and cost effective in achieving its
goals. The
Tobacco Program Evaluation Group is funded by STEPP to
conduct research
with funds from the 2004 state tobacco tax.
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