Statewide Iowa — Smoking has been banned in public places in Iowa since 2008, but there’s been an exception that has allowed smoking in the gaming areas of Iowa casinos.
Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, notes the state’s tribal casinos and some state-licensed casinos temporarily moved to ban smoking to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In 2008, Petersen was a member of the Iowa House and chairwoman of the commerce committee that led the effort to pass the Iowa Smokefree Act. At the time, Iowa’s casino industry argued it would lose customers to casinos in the Illinois Quad Cities where smoking was allowed, but smoking is now banned in casinos in Illinois and South Dakota — and gambling regulators overseeing construction of new casinos in Nebraska have just proposed a smoking ban.
There’s been a no-smoking movement in casinos run by Native American tribes nationwide. Wes Ehrecke is president and CEO of the Iowa Gaming Association, which represents the 19 state-licensed casinos.
Ehrecke says it’s not a workplace safety issue — and he says adults should be allowed to make adult decisions in adult venues.
Ehrecke made his comments during a recent appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS.
