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Smoking ban amended

Plea from workers moves Senate panel to include casinos

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 23, 2006 at midnight

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Casino workers strongly urged lawmakers Wednesday to ban smoking in their workplaces, and a Senate committee saw it their way.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-3 to include casinos, amending a bill that would outlaw smoking in most Colorado workplaces .

Earlier this month, the House passed a version of the ban that exempted casinos, tobacco stores, up to one-fourth of a hotel's rooms and a few other places.

But gaming industry workers Wednesday told the Judiciary Committee that many of them suffer from exposure to secondhand smoke. Some said they're dying from it.

Florence Bush said she was diagnosed with lung cancer four years ago. She never smoked, but she worked at a casino.

"Smokers have the attitude that casinos are for smokers, and if you don't smoke, you don't belong there," she said. "Four years ago, I was given a 25 percent survival rate. I'm still here today, but I have no guarantees, and I have smokers to thank for it."

The bill now heads to the full Senate, where Sen. Dan Grossman, D-Denver, said he has at least 18 votes to pass the measure, which he is co-sponsoring with Rep. Mike May, R-Parker.

"This is first, last and always about a health issue," Grossman said. "It's not just about the health of people who go into a place and decide to kill themselves with smoke. It's about protecting the people there earning a paycheck."

But Sens. Jim Dyer, R-Centennial, and Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, vowed to fight the measure, contending it will devastate neighborhood mom-and-pop bars.

"I think free Americans can decide if they want to smoke," Dyer said.

"It's a highly anti-business bill. "

The committee heard from almost four dozen witnesses.

Some wanted breaks for neighborhood bars, others wanted a total ban on smoking.

Chuck Ford, executive director of the Colorado Beverage Association, called House Bill 1175 unjust.

"We don't invite people in our places because of their health," Ford said.

"They come in there because they want to have a cigarette and a glass of beer."

Denver City Councilman Michael Hancock, who is spearheading a regional smoking ban effort, warned state lawmakers that if they fail to do the right thing this session, metro-area cities will do it for them.

"Please be clear about one thing: On the local level, we are very serious about this issue," said Hancock.

"Though we prefer not to enact legislation on a city-by-city basis, we are prepared to do so.

"I promise you that if local bans are instituted by local elections or legislative acts, the bans will be much stricter than the proposed statewide ban," he said.

Last year, Grossman let the bill die rather than let lawmakers dilute it.

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