\nLouisiana Casino Association Executive Director Wade Duty said earlier this month, “We believe both our customers and employees are educated and therefore able to choose for themselves the environment they wish to enter. Despite the speculative claims that such bans would actually increase the number of customers visiting casinos, real world experience in New Orleans and other locations which have imposed such bans in casinos clearly shows otherwise.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nAt the Baton Rouge hearing this week, a casino worker from L’Auberge said air filtration at the venue prevents smoking from lingering, and her clothes don’t even smell when she leaves her job.<\/p>\n
But one would be hard pressed to find any health official who doesn’t believe continued exposure to secondhand smoke isn’t dangerous. Metro Councilman LaMont Cole asked the casino interests, “What amount of money is equal to the loss of human life?”<\/p>\n
The Great Outdoors<\/b><\/h2>\n
When the council reconvenes in August, it’s expected that the Baton Rouge smoking ban will be approved. This week, casinos told the board if that’s the inevitable reality, they would request that the ordinance be delayed until at least 2018 in order to provide ample time to adjust to the rule.<\/p>\n
\nIn New Orleans, Harrah’s has opened an outdoor smoking and gaming courtyard after receiving permission from the city. The space now holds some 60 slot machines in a climate-controlled environment.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThose representing the casinos told the Baton Rouge officials they would be interested in creating similar outdoor spaces if the smoking ban goes into effect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Baton Rouge’s Metro Council opted to delay voting on whether to implement a proposed smoking ban on bars and casinos within the Louisiana city’s jurisdiction. The capital and second largest city in Louisiana behind only New Orleans, an anti-smoking group called Smoke-free East Baton Rouge (EBR) is pushing the regulation. A similar ordinance was considered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":53637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,18,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Baton Rouge to Take Long Drag in Deciding Casino Smoking Ban<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n