Local Health Systems Call on Churchill Downs to Open Turfway Park Smoke-free
August 2022
Churchill Downs
700 Central Ave.
Louisville, KY 40208
To the Leadership of Churchill Downs,
News
Public Health Organizations Call on Churchill Downs to Open Turfway Park Smoke-free
August 16th, 2022
To the Leadership of Churchill Downs Incorporated,
On behalf of our network of advocates and volunteers, The LiveWell® Smoke-Free Florence
Coalition, Kentucky Center for Smokefree Policy, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, American
Lung Association, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network,
and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids we urge you to prioritize opening Turfway Park in
Florence, KY as a 100% smoke-free indoor property from day one. Our organizations have a long
history of advocating for smokefree environments locally, across the state of Kentucky, and
nationally. We believe casino workers should not be forced to work in a smoke-filled
environment -- to choose between their health and a paycheck.
The pandemic has brought about a sea change in how the gaming industry thinks about
smokefree policies, and smoke-free indoor casinos are quickly becoming the norm across the
United States. Nearly half of all states--including neighboring Ohio—at least 160 Tribal gaming
properties and nearly 1,100 gaming venues nationwide do not permit smoking indoors
including the new property poised to open next year in Terre Haute, Indiana and of course, your
flagship property in Louisville.
A new study released by Las Vegas-based C3 Gaming demonstrates that the pandemic has
flipped conventional wisdom about the economic impact of going smoke-free indoors at casinos
on its head. According to the study’s authors:
“The pandemic altered consumer expectations and consumer behavior in virtually every
industry, including retail, entertainment, lodging, dining and casino gaming. One of
those changes (is) in attitudes towards smoking in casinos…”
“Data from multiple jurisdictions clearly indicates that banning smoking no longer
causes a dramatic drop in gaming revenue,” it read. “In fact, non-smoking properties
appear to be performing better than their counterparts that continue to allow
smoking.”
Not only are smoke-free casinos now performing better than their smoking counterparts, we’ve
also known for many years that indoor smoking threatens the health of employees and guests.
This year marks 16 years since the U.S. Surgeon General released a landmark report affirming
the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, and tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure
kills nearly 500,000 Americans every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
state: “There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke, and even brief exposure can cause
immediate harm. Studies have shown that smoke-free laws that prohibit smoking in public
places help improve the health of workers and the general population. Some of these
improvements in health outcomes, such as reductions in hospital admissions for heart attacks,
begin to be realized shortly after the laws take effect. Smoke-free laws also can make it easier
for people who smoke to quit, reducing their risk of disease.”
Further, the CDC singled out smoke-free indoor casino policies as a “public health win,” the
impact of which is “immeasurable in terms of not only protecting the public who attend these
venues, but also workers who are working eight hours or more per day in these environments.”
The only solution that protects workers and guests is going 100% smoke-free indoors. Despite
claims to the contrary, advanced air filtration systems do not protect against the well established
harms of secondhand smoke. In fact, the engineers who design those ventilation
systems say they don’t solve the problem. These engineers, from the American Society of
Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), warn that even the best
filtration and ventilation systems "are not effective against secondhand smoke" and "can
reduce only odor and discomfort but cannot eliminate exposure...There is no currently available
or reasonably anticipated ventilation or air cleaning system that can adequately control or
significantly reduce the health risks of [environmental tobacco smoke] to an acceptable level.”
Our organizations remain committed to 100% smoke-free air policy change for Florence as well
as neighboring communities in Northern Kentucky. Everyone deserves the right to breathe
smoke-free air. The workforce that will power Turfway deserves the same protections as their
counterparts across the river in Cincinnati. For the health of all employees and patrons, only
100% smoke-free indoor air will provide protection from secondhand smoke. We urge you to
continue your history of leadership on this issue and include Turfway Park as the next
smoke-free gaming property in your portfolio.
Sincerely,
Tom Cahill, RRT
Chair, LiveWell® Smoke-Free Florence Coalition
Dr. Ellen Hahn, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor and Director, BREATHE and KCSP, Marcia A. Dake Professorship
University of Kentucky College of Nursing
Traci Kennedy, MPA
Midwest States Strategist, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights
Shannon Baker
Director, Advocacy KY & TN, American Lung Association
Shannon Smith
VP, Field Advocacy, Midwest Region, American Heart Association
Meghan Kissell, MSW
Advocacy Director, Tobacco States & Mid-Atlantic, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
Katie Rose Garden, MA
Grassroots Manager, KY & WV, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.