Opponents of smoking in casinos try to enlist shareholders of gambling companies in non-smoking push

abcnews.go.com:

Add investors to the list of people that opponents of smoking in casinos are enlisting in hopes of banning the practice

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Add investors to the list of people that opponents of smoking in casinos are enlisting in hopes of banning the practice.

A national non-smoking group and a Michigan health system have placed shareholder proposals on the agenda of annual meetings for two major gambling companies and are likely to add a third.

The measures ask the companies to study potential financial benefits of going smoke-free at their casino properties.

And while it remains to be seen whether the proposals will be approved by investors, the move represents yet another aspect of an effort by casino smoking foes to leave no stone unturned in their drive to end smoking in gambling halls. In New Jersey, that has included pushing lawmakers to legislate a ban, and filing a lawsuit in state court to overturn an indoor smoking law that exempts casinos.

Proposals from Trinity Health, a Michigan-based health care system, and the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation will be voted on by shareholders of Boyd Gaming and Bally's Corporation during their annual meetings this year. And an identical measure has been submitted to Caesars Entertainment, which has not yet announced the date of its annual meeting.

«Many shareholders will be surprised to learn that these casino companies still allow indoor smoking, even in the year 2024, and that the policy is harming the very workers who were instrumental in the companies generating billions of dollars in revenue in 2023,” said Cynthia Hallett, president of the non-smokers group. “If casinos will not do the right thing on their own, then we will continue to explore every avenue