Opening smoke-free casino is not a risk

To the editor:

Tucked into the last paragraph of The Gazette story on the planned legislation to be submitted for consideration concerning the ‘smoke-free' casino in Cedar Rapids is a provision that in itself is a fitting reason to kill said legislation now ('Senators to propose smoke-free C.R. casino,” Dec. 3).

Proponents of the legislation want to ensure that Steve Gray and his partners are spared the $20 million license fee in trade for the ‘risk' of opening Iowa's first smoke-free casino.

With recent news reports issued by the Centers for Disease Control it is more than apparent that the incidence of smoking among adult Americans has dropped to 17.8 percent. In the over 65 age group the number of smokers now constitutes a mere 8.8 percent. With the numbers trending downward in terms of adult Americans lighting up, it would appear that the perceived ‘risk' is slight. The fact that the proposed casino in Cedar Rapids would have a monopoly on being ‘smoke-free', with the added benefit of excluding more casino licenses for 10 years, it would be appropriate to raise the fee from the current $20 million to something even higher.

Greg Januska

Cedar Rapids