Campaign Underway to Make Mesquite Smoke-Free
Residents Cite UNLV survey results in presentation to City Council
Dozens of Mesquite residents crowded City Hall Tuesday night to show their support for turning their city into Nevada’s first smoke-free destination.
American Lung Association Representative Fred Toval made a formal presentation to City Council Members informing them of the growing support for a smoke-free Mesquite.
“We have an opportunity to set ourselves apart as a city,” said Toval, “while at the same time providing healthier work environments for hundreds of Mesquite citizens.”
Toval’s presentation included data from a survey conducted by UNLV showing strong support among registered Mesquite voters for municipal smoke-free legislation. He also showed council members more than 3400 post cards signed by supporters, including more than 2300 from Mesquite residents.
Smoke-free Mesquite supporters say they understand the underlying concern that eliminating smoke in casinos might affect revenues, which is why they’ve done a lot of homework regarding the matter. They say there are examples all over the country of smoke-free casinos that are thriving even when they sit right next to casinos that allow smoking.
“This is our city,” said Toval. “We wouldn’t push for this if we believed it would hurt our economy. In fact, we think this is a great opportunity. We can become a “clean getaway” for tourists. In the meantime, going smoke-free would literally save lives here.”
The UNLV survey showed 89% of registered Mesquite voters would be more likely or just as likely to visit casinos if they were smoke-free. It also showed 87% would spend more time or just as much time in a smoke-free casino compared to casinos that allow smoking.
“Our first concern is always the rights of everyone to breathe clean air,” said Sarah Davis, Regional Director of Programs for American Lung Association of the Southwest. “We believe Mesquite going smoke-free is a win-win for everyone.”
SMOKE-FREE MESQUITE POLL RESULTS
Scientific Approach
►400 Mesquite registered voters surveyed
►Poll conducted by Cannon Survey Center of UNLV
►4.6% margin of error
General Information Regarding Those Surveyed
►Nearly 75% visit Mesquite casinos at least once a month
►The majority participates in gaming and are players club members at Mesquite casinos
The Results
►44.7 said they would be MORE LIKELY (25.3%) or MUCH MORE LIKELY (19.4%) to visit a Mesquite smoke-free casino while 44.2% said a smoke-free casino would not influence their likelihood of visitation.
►Considering approximately 10% said they would be less likely to go to a smoke-free Mesquite casino, the survey indicates casinos would see a net GAIN of approximately 33% of customers who would be more likely to visit if casinos were to go smoke-free in Mesquite.
►Half of respondents (50.5%) would spend the same amount of time at a casino if it were smoke-free, followed by over one-third (36.4%) who would spend MORE time at a casino if it were smoke-free.
►The majority of respondents (66.2%) indicated that smoke in the casino irritates them either very much (38.8%) or somewhat (27.4%).
►The majority of respondents (72.9%) believe that city council has a responsibility to pass laws that protect public health and safety
