Jul 7, 2009 1 min read

Given the choice between protecting workers at slots operations from the danger of second-hand smoke and caving in to their campaign contributors in the gambling business, the General Assembly opted for the latter. Common Cause reported Pennsylvania was the last state in the mid-Atlantic region to adopt an indoor smoking ban, and one reason for the delay was the opposition of the gambling industry. Instead of banning smoking, it was limited to a certain percentage of each casino’s floor space – and could be expanded.

Here’s the killer.Common Cause reported that a recent analysis by the Roswell Park Cancer Institute estimated that casino workers in smoking zones would be exposed to a much higher, more dangerous concentration of second-hand smoke – nearly three times as much – as workers at a casino with smoking everywhere.

In effect, the state’s law actually makes working conditions for casino workers more dangerous. Only in Pennsylvania.