Public Health Advocates Urge Casinos to Follow Trends and Appeal to Patrons by Eliminating Indoor Smoking
Berkeley, CA — According to a new analysis of CDC data from the National Health Interview Study, the percentage of Americans who smoke cigarettes has dropped to a record low. In 2024, only 9.9% of Americans reported smoking cigarettes — the lowest U.S. adult smoking rate observed to date and a large decline from the 20.1% reported 20 years earlier. As smoking rates continue to decline, it’s increasingly clear that businesses — notably, casinos — that allow indoor smoking are out of step with the public and risk ceding market share to smokefree competitors.
“Smokefree casinos already have strong support, and as American people increasingly become more health conscious, this support will only grow,” said Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights. “As the latest National Health Interview Survey shows, more than 90% of Americans do not smoke. This statistic is even stronger among young adults, only 6% of whom regularly smoke. Health-conscious young people who have never experienced widespread indoor smoking are not interested in gambling in smoke-filled rooms. Casinos that are looking to increase in-person gaming revenue should look to the vast majority of Americans who are making themselves clear — allowing smoking indoors is entirely out of line with our preferences.”
The new findings mark the first time that the U.S. adult smoking rate has fallen to the single digits, suggesting that the country may be well on its way to achieving a national public health target of reducing adult smoking to 6.1% by 2030. Following these trends, casino executives across the country who are looking to both protect the health and wellbeing of their workers and patrons as well as increase their economic success should eliminate smoking from their facilities immediately.
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Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR), sister organization to ANRF, is a member-supported, non-profit advocacy group that has been working for over 50 years to protect everyone’s right to breathe nontoxic air in workplaces and public places, from offices and airplanes to restaurants, bars, and casinos. ANR has continuously shined a light on the tobacco industry’s interference with sound and life-saving public health measures and successfully protected 61% of the population with local or statewide smokefree workplace, restaurant, and bar laws. ANR aims to close gaps in smokefree protections for workers in all workplaces, including bars, music venues, casinos, and hotels. For more information, please visit nonsmokersrights.org and https://smokefreecasinos.org.
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