Letter: Tahoe events need to be in tobacco-free venues
To the community,
I would gladly help to support events like the Sierra Nevada Alliance’s film festival, but I have chronic bronchitis and asthma which makes it impossible for me to enter a smoke-filled casino, let alone attend the film festival.
How can you hold this event in a toxic, smoke-filled casino? It is discrimination against people who have respiratory illnesses, heart conditions, and even people who just want to live a healthy life without exposing themselves to the 63 known cancer causing carcinogens, 4,000 to 8,000 toxic chemicals, and 619 deadly additives that are in secondhand tobacco smoke. There is a reason that the Surgeon General has stated “there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke.”
It has been proven that secondhand smoke causes permanent heart and lung damage with even a small amount of exposure.
Why not hold this event in a clean, healthy, non-toxic environment like Heavenly Village Cinema? Or the community college?
There is no excuse for holding an environmentally friendly film festival in a venue filled with toxic air.
According to my friend who worked as head of research for the third largest tobacco company in the world, “If the tobacco industry were forced to list the ingredients on a package of cigarettes or cigars, you would not legally be able to throw them into a landfill.”
Each cigarette is a miniature toxic waste dump containing cadmium (battery acid), formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide (used to kill people in gas chambers during the war!), benzene, acetone, arsenic (rat poison), polonium 210 (radioactive), and nicotine (poison) to name just a few ingredients.
So why are you forcing all of your film-goers to attend a film festival in a toxic smoke-filled casino? Simply separating a room within a building is completely useless. The ventilation system carries all the gaseous matter throughout the entire building.
If you truly care about the environment, stop holding events in the toxic smoke-filled casinos. At the very least, you can encourage the casinos to go smoke-free along with the rest of the world. Entire countries are now smoke-free in all indoor areas including casinos. Yet here in Tahoe, all it takes is a bit of blood money from the murdering tobacco companies (aka the Gaming Association, etc.) and everyone ignores the fact that over 600,000 Americans died of smoking last year and 63,000 died prematurely from secondhand smoke last year.
Stop patronizing businesses that promote tobacco. Tobacco kills more people each year than all other causes of death. Please move the film festival to a place where everyone can go and see it. A non-smoking venue.
Diana Woodbury, South Lake Tahoe
I agree. I rarely venture into the casinos after 25 years in Tahoe. However, this past weekend I wanted to support TAP and attended the Dancing with the Stars show at Mont Bleu. There were many children in attendance as this shows at the schools before the public performance. The smell of the cigarette smoke dried out my eyes, burned my throat and made me feel sick to my stomach. Not to mention, the stink I had to wash out of my clothes and the smell lingering in my car. If my own kids were little, I would never bring them there. It would have been nice to hold the event at another location that was smoke-free.
The casinos donate and support local nonprofits greatly. We’re fortunate to have such nice comfortable and spacious facilities for fundraisers, but I agree that the smoke is a driving force keeping people away. I hear it a lot. People don’t want to come home with stinky hair and clothes. And, they don’t want to be exposed to it. With fewer people smoking, why haven’t some of the casinos gone nonsmoking? I guess that’s still their target client (at the tables & slots).
ditto from another person that will not attend events at the clubs due to cigarette smoke! There is a lot of irony when it’s an environmental group? Why dont more folks support Embassy Suites ability to house large groups in their meeting rooms? or better yet, partner with the college? Yes some of clubs are willing partners for events, that’s great – but I really wonder who comes and who doesnt based on the smoke-filled environment?
i too wont venture into the casinos for any type of entertainment due to the smokey stinky cigarettes. I wont even go to the movies at the Horizon due to the cigarett smoke. Its a real “drag”, no pun intended
Jennifer, are the clubs really being so “supportive” when they subject all of their customers to pulmonary and cardiovascular rape? I see it as a lure for innocent, uneducated people and children who are the tobacco industry’s next victims. The tobacco industry needs to hook 3,000 American children EVERY DAY just to break even and keep up with all of their sick and dying customers. This murdering industry pays HUGE amounts of money to undermine the reality of how deadly their product is. They normalize their products by paying millions of dollars to movie producers, rock stars, and anyone else who will accept their blood money. Any company that allows smoking indoors today with all the information available, is just another whore for the tobacco industry and should be viewed as an accomplice to murder. There are tens of millions of documents provided directly from the tobacco industry itself proving their lies and deception. Tobacco is the only “legal” product on the market which kills over 50% of its customers. These documents include proof of payoff to the ventilation industry (to make people believe that ventilation systems help to clear the air in casinos, etc..) the bribes to doctors, scientists, movie stars, etc.. to promote their miniature toxic waste dumps. What better way to “normalize” a product that no sane person with knowledge of its contents would even touch, than to lure innocent children into a casino filled with people smoking? See: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/ Also, Jennifer, there are many studies which have concluded that far from targeting clients, smoking keeps most people away. Only 15% of Californians now smoke, and most people who do not smoke have no wish to be subjected to secondhand smoke. The casinos in Nevada are either living under a giant rock… or are being supported by the tobacco industry itself in trade for allowing this horror to continue. (Gaming Association = Philip Morris) See Report by Dr Pritsos: http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/17/2/82.abstract
This would suggest that, like movie theaters, restaurants, bars, airplanes, buses, and all other places where it is now illegal to smoke, it has either had a positive impact financially (there are more people who do NOT smoke in the US than who smoke), but of course,in people’s health, as well! Breathing is not a choice!
Diana has many very good points about the risk and discomfort from being around tobacco smoke. But VTtoTahoe revealed something quite interesting. I never thought that Georgia was that progressive on smoking issues, but we protect children from smoke in public places. Restaurants and bars can choose to ban smoking, ban anyone under age 18 or set up separately ventilated smoking rooms off-limits to patrons or workers under 18. Allowing children in smoky casinos is just extremely backwards (and plain stupid for smoke causes earaches and asthma attacks).
As Diana wrote, “There is no excuse for holding an environmentally friendly film festival in a venue filled with toxic air.” Does anyone need more carbon monoxide, which builds up the plaque in our arteries, or do men need more cadmium that causes prostate cancer? Smoking and secondhand smoke cause diseases. The sponsors of the event should have thought of that and chosen a smokefree venue that allows everyone to attend without the risk to health.
When I first started to read the letter, I thought that the Georgia Chapter of Sierra Club must be a sponsor for they host many events in smoky bars and such.
In 1975 as I worked the campground check-in at Emerald Bay State Park, there were many rangers and park aides who smoked, and it was difficult to avoid their smoke. Today, we know far too much about the poisons in tobacco smoke. The film festival should be showing ADDICTION INCORPORATED to go with the smoke in the casino.
My husband & I generally boycott events at the casinos due to the tobacco smoke. The air filtering systems are not effective.
WELL, IF THE SMOKE MESSING WITH YOU ,PLEASE STAY INDOORS HIDE FROM THE SUN!
WHEN WILL WE GET SMART AS THE CHINA EYES ,WEAR FACE MASKS IN PROTEST?LARGE PROFITS OF WEALTH COME AT A COST SO WE CAN SAVE HERE ON UNDERWEAR,IPHONES,COMPUTERS,SO WE CAN TALK.
Stay away from 100.000 rock concerts, the weed carry off into the clouds, spend a fortune on junk food, and that booze could get you in trouble.
Freedom of CHOICE HARD THING TO DEAL WITH!(but it’s worth fighting for).
MAYBE FOR A SMALL FEE, YOU CAN HAVE IT PIPED INTO YOUR OWN CASTLE,CRIB.
EVERYONES BUBBLE IS DIFFERENT,THE ONLY THING I ASK FOR IS A CLEAN HEAD,WATER TO FLUSH.EVEN ROME HAD THE WATER TO GET RID THE SMELL ,EVEN IF THEY DID DIE FROM LEAD.THEY TAUGHT US SOMETHING COOL.
(BEG YOUR PARDON MISS)YOUR KIDS SUCKING ON A LEAD PAINTED TOY FROM CHINA!!?….CATCH THE DRIFT BUBBA?
THOSE PLASTIC HEADS AT THE ROCK CONCERTS AT Harvey’s ARE LOST FOR WORDS,THE BEARS ARE EVEN DICUSSED.BUT TURN IT UP ,WE WANT ALL THE POOR FOLKS TO HEAR WHATS GOING ON!
Bow TO THE SNOW GLOBES ,CALLED ENLIGHTMENT.LOL @IT ROCKED THE DEMONS OF BASS OUT THE CELLARS OF PROGRESS THAT KNOCKED GRANNY PICTURES OFF THE WALLS.
ITS STILL ONE THE GREATEST THINGS EVER TO HAPPEN IN THE GOOD OLD BOYS OUT HOUSE!
WHEN YOU BECOME OLD AND WISE,YOU’LL AVOID THE IN THINGS. SEEK YOUR OWN ADVICE,THEN THERE’S NO ONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELF?
CRIMES AGANIST PEOPLE ,HOW MANY RIGHTS ARE EACH ONE US ENTITLED TO?
EAGLES LEARN TO FLY EVEN IF THEY ARE BURNING THE FOREST,GOT READ BETWEEN THE LINES ON Whats good .There are no goodbyes in the dawn of the Morning Sky.
I’M JUST A SIMPLE SOUL LIKE YOU,HEARD IT ALL BEFORE,SIMPLE SERVANT THAT BRINGS IT TO YOUR ATTENTION.
RULES, RULES, MORE RULES TO PROTECT US FROM WHOM, WHAT?
“OURSELVES?”
“WHEN WILL TIME LET US START OVER TO GET IT RIGHT”?
IDEALISM IS A BAD WORD FOR FREEDOM!
WE ARE SHOWDOWS OF WHAT WE WANT IT TO BE,THE DREAM ENDED AS SOON AS WE BEGUN.
HOW LONG WILL WE ALL BE SHACKLED,BY A FEW?
hang ups, Really? One coherent sentence would help get your point across, but then its just bla bla bla
It was a good try and got some traction, but society is what it is. The art gallery for film festivals here is smoke free:-)
I’m another person with a respiratory disability who can’t attend events in smoky places. The irony of an environmental group hosting an event in a location that supports one of the worst causes of environmental destruction seems completely lost on these people. So thanks for outing this bogus organization – I won’t waste any charitable donations on the Sierra Nevada Alliance either, since they seem pretty confused about what they stand for.
Let’s all think of an alternative venue that can hold enough people in S. Lake Tahoe….
Anyone have any ideas?
I think that the author doesn’t like something else about this event, or the people who put it on, and this is the best criticism they can come up with. The event outgrew LTCC. There aren’t any larger conference type areas, especially ones that are already rigged up with A/V support. And I am sure Mont Bleu cuts them a deal on the off chance that someone gambles.
If you are really that concerned and want to see the festival that bad you have a few options. Drive to Nevada City. No smoke there. Contact Mont Bleu, have them take you in through the service area behind the venue, you will never have to go anywhere near the casino floor (which is the only place people can smoke).
You might have a point if this venue was sitting right next to an alternative venue that was smoke free. Since there isn’t even such an option in SLT… I think you just want to complain.
Here you go, Thing Fish: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/march/casino-secondhand-smoke-032511.html
As you will see, from this study, there is no way to keep the toxic smoke out of the showroom. Ventilation systems DO NOT WORK, and simply push the poisonous gas and particulate matter into the “non-smoking” parts of the building.
It seems really unfair of you to recommend that people with respiratory disabilities and heart problems should have to drive all the way to Nevada City to see the film festival. Especially when the whole point of trying to be “environmentally friendly” would be NOT to use 2 hours worth of gas just to go and see films about saving our planet. What an oxymoron! Kind of like telling black people that they should drive from Georgia or Tenessee to California if they want to be treated like humans… no such thing as “civil rights” in the casinos of Nevada! No… if you don’t happen to have an addiction to nicotine, or are not willing to accept a week to a month of wheezing, headaches, nausea, bronchitis, and coughing (for those of us with sensitivity to tobacco smoke) you have to drive 2 hours to see a film. NOT FAIR!!! This is NOT about “discriminating against “smokers” (a word that was made up by the tobacco industry itself). This is about getting rid of the toxic SMOKE. Next you will be saying that people who have cocaine, heroine or alcohol problems should be able to drive their vehicles and run over people at random with no legal consequences. After all, that would be true “freedom” wouldn’t it? Why not let gun owners shoot anyone they want to, as well? After all, tobacco kills more people each year than all the homicides, alcohol deaths, car accidents, illegal drugs, and AIDS COMBINED! In fact, even SECONDHAND smoke kills more people each year than any other cause of death other than first hand alcohol. Cigarette caused fires kill over 1,200 Americans each year. Check the CDC if you are interested in the facts: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/health/attrdeaths/
Why not see if Embassy Suites has a big enough conference room, or have several showings at the college instead of just one night? Or even get Heavenly Village Cinemas to donate one of the theaters during a time when they are not showing a mainstream movie? What about the high school? Or even better, get all the casinos to get rid of the toxic tobacco smoke! There is no reason why nicotine addicts can’t get their fix outside. Smoking IS a “choice”. Breathing is NOT!
It is unfair of you, Thing Fish, to say the author “doesn’t like something else about this event, or the people who put it on”, as I am certain that she would not take the time to write anything at all, or voice her concerns if she did not want to attend! I believe the whole point of the letter was that, where the tobacco industry is concerned, civil rights do not exist. As I said before, BREATHING IS NOT A CHOICE. Advocating for allowing people to smoke where ever they wish is like advocating for heroin addicts to be legally allowed to inject their infected needles into innocent bystanders whenever and wherever they please! By 2020 tobacco will kill as many people each year as died in the entire holocaust! Over 6 million people died at the hands of the murdering tobacco industry last year! If more people do not stand up to this evil industry that sells the only “legal” product that KILLS when used as intended, nothing will ever change. I say RECALL TOBACCO!
“Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou
shalt not be a bystander”
Holocaust Museum, Washington, DC
The film festival could be held at the high school. I’ve not been up there since I graduated all those years ago, but from what I hear the new theater is very nice and it would be smoke free. Another option would be the city recreation center. Both of these places have ample parking, are centeraly located and smoke free.
Helps the school district or the city of SLT with a few dollars and everybody wins.Take Care,OLS
i agree with long skis in the sense that the high school investment is an asset for the entire community, needs to be utilized as such, and not as a for-profit gesture.
Certainly this should be held in a smokefree venue.
We who are afflicted with tobacco smoke hypersensitivity cannot go into an area that is not smoke free. I would wind up in a hospital, my Myasthena Gravis would be recurring, with no doubt much more serious consequences than the first onset. But of course people who smoke do not see anything wrong with smoking, they have been doing it all their life. Yeah, sure. They just don’t believe it when they are told that they lose perhaps 12 or so minutes of their life for every cigarette they smoke. However, their end of life may not be so painless. They do have an end of life, sooner than they expect. Lets clean up the air so all of us can enjoy.
Of course all public events should be smoke free. If they are not, the organizers will be violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. This federal law requires that people with breathing disabilities and heart conditions be allowed to participate in all events without any special accommodation being made for them. So the host can’t require people with asthma or heart conditions to wear and use a SCUBA tank and equipment so they can breathe clean air.
If this event is not moved, someone should take the organizers to court.
It is bad for consumers and employees alike when a company or organization deems it acceptable to have smoking around employees or non-smoking customers. As a consumer I have crossed off attendance at events on the basis of their allowing smoking, and encouraged others to do so.
Saying part of a building is “smoke free” is too akin to having an asbestos ripout in one part of a building and saying the other part of the building, down the hallway is the carcinogen-free section.
Smoke-free venues have only improved business in New York and other major cities, along with decreasing maintenance costs, not to mention decreasing risks of fires set by cigarettes and careless smokers.
Places that still have smoking are fighting the tide of history and common sense as well.
I’m utterly shocked that any festival, film or otherwise would be held in a smoking venue…what were the organizers thinking?!!!!