Will Smoking Ban Eventually Enter Tribal Games?

Following is an excerpt from an interesting article on the growing pressure in some areas to make tribal casinos smoke free.

Antismoking advocates are confident that casinos will be free of smoke one day. They're just not sure when.

In Connecticut, where Indian tribes own Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, it's likely to take years.

That's because while there's considerable agreement that secondhand smoke is dangerous, the tribes regard any attempt by the state to regulate or outright ban smoking at the casinos as a threat to their sovereignty.

Although, some advocates say, that stance is a smokescreen in itself.

”We call it the 'shield of sovereignty.' It's really about the money. It's always about the money,” said Stephanie Steinberg, chairwoman of Smoke-Free Gaming, a group that pushed for smoke-free casinos in Colorado, where a ban on smoking at the more than 40 commercial casinos in the state took effect Jan. 1, 2008.

For the complete story, please see Brian Hallenbeck, Casino Smoking: It's About Money, TheDay.com, February 22, 2009.