As a cancer survivor who was exposed heavily to secondhand smoke, I urge Pennsylvania state lawmakers to ensure all casinos, including those opting to operate smoke-free during the COVID-19 pandemic, remain smoke-free permanently. Casino workers should not have to endure the health effects of secondhand smoke to keep a job.

As a young person, my mother was a cigarette smoker and my father a cigar smoker. There was a cloud of smoke always present, including in our car.

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Smoking and vaping are still allowed in these areas; however, a casino operator can designate separate rooms or areas within the establishment as nonsmoking or nonvaping. For example, many casinos. State law since casinos were first allowed in Pennsylvania has permitted them to allow smoking in up to 50% of the facility, as an exception to a prohibition in most public spaces. Repeated legislative efforts to repeal the exception have failed to muster support for passage. As of January 2021, there are at least 1,090 U.S. Casinos and other gaming properties with 100% smokefree indoor air policies. This number includes at least 163 Indian gaming facilities operating smokefree during the COVID-19 pandemic by their own sovereign policy.

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In 2011 I came down with a sore throat and a hoarse voice which would not go away. This evolved into precancerous cells requiring numerous surgeries and then nodules and tumors which became cancerous, requiring radiation treatments. My thyroid ultimately had to be removed. Fortunately, I have been cancer-free since 2012; however, the worry of the cancer returning doesn’t go away, and I must take medication for life to do the work my thyroid used to do.

Keeping casinos smoke-free is a win-win financially and health-wise for Pennsylvania. Casinos have reported increases to their monthly gaming revenues this year over last. Let’s not roll the dice with the health of Pennsylvanians. Let’s breathe free in Pennsylvania and ensure we have clean indoor air.

Michael Turk, New Tripoli, Pa.