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Ohio Casinos Mixed on Allowing E-Cigarettes
It wasn’t long ago that cigarettes were as much a fixture of casinos as slot machines and blackjack tables. While those days are mostly gone now, as e-cigarettes rise to take the place of cigarettes for many, the question is coming up again in Ohio’s gambling halls: should they be allowed or not?
The Columbus Dispatch reports that there’s more than one answer to that question, and whether you’ll be allowed to vape or not in an Ohio casino depends on which casino you’re in. While many of the state’s casinos have banned the devices, others such as the Horseshoe casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati, and the Thistledown Racino near Cleveland, all owned by Rock Ohio Caesars, welcome vapers. E-cigarettes are allowed indoors in Ohio, according to Tessie Pollock of the Ohio Department of Health, since the states Smoke-Free Act, enacted in 2006, applies only to burning tobacco.
The Dispatch article highlights some of the unfounded paranoia around e-cigarettes. For example, Elizabeth Lessner, owner of six Ohio restaurants, cites a rather bizarre health concern.
“This winter, we had a major flu epidemic and there was concern that people’s spit was coming out in the mist.”
Others, like Scott Schweitzer, manager of the Park Street Tavern, take a more pragmatic view, saying “We don’t really have a policy, but as long as they’re legal, people can use them.”
This sentiment on allowing the use of e-cigarettes is echoed by Jesse Clendenin, manager of Arena District bar The Three Legged Mare, who says “there’s no reason not to.”
E-cigarette users out of luck in Ohio’s casinos
Ohio Casinos Mixed on Allowing E-Cigarettes