Changes Proposed To PA Smoking Laws

PITTSBURGH, PA — Two Western Pennsylvania lawmakers will introduce legislation that would prohibit smoking and other workplaces. State Sen. Jay Costa and Rep. Dan Frankel, both Allegheny County Democrats, detailed their plans at a news conference on Wednesday.

Pennsylvania casinos were forced to go smoke free for about a year, due to pandemic but most have gone back to permitting smoking. Parx, the state's highest grossing casino just outside of Philadelphia, is one that opted not to bring it back.

Pennsylvania's Clean Air Act, enacted in 2008, bans smoking in most public places - including restaurants and workplaces - but only 50 percent of casino floors.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one study disclosed that 50 percent of the casinos sampled had air pollution levels known to cause cardiovascular disease after only two hours of exposure. The levels of fine particle air pollution found inside a casino were four to six times that of outside air, even in a well-ventilated casino.

Even in ventilated casinos, nicotine levels in casino workers are 300 percent to 600 percent higher than employees in other workplaces where smoking is allowed during a work shift, according to the CDC.

Frankel and Costa's bills would have to be approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. Tom Wolf to become law.

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