Patricia Nez Henderson addresses Smokefree Casino Myths

Secondhand smoke kills...
employees

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Dear Editor of the Navajo Times,

Last week the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise (NNGE) placed a full-page ad in
your paper concerning having a smoke-free casino.   There were several claims
that were made by NNGE that are erroneous and made without any supporting
data.    Our Navajo leaders and community members need to understand these
claims are false and we should be making decisions for our people that are based
on information that are scientific not anecdotal.   By allowing smoking in the
casino, NNGE is in part assuming this is what brings customers to the Fire Rock
Casino. This of course is totally not true. In fact, 80% of gaming patrons are non-
smokers. Of the gaming patrons who are smokers more than 60% want to quit.

The next claim that the NNGE makes is that their revenues will suffer if they go
smoke-free. The tobacco industry has used the 30% revenue reduction claim
when businesses (hotel, restaurant, and bar businesses) were going smoke-free
across the U.S. Did the hotels, restaurants, and bars lose revenue when they went
smoke-free? NO! As a matter of fact, patrons and workers of these businesses are
more satisfied because of the smoke-free environment. Policies like this have
created a truly “holistic” economic development enterprise.

So who do we listen to, Navajo Nation? The Tobacco Industry???? Remember,
this is an industry that has LIED to us for many years. This is an industry that will
now be monitored closely by the Federal Drug Administration, because they
continue to produce products that are deadly and spread information to the
general public that is erroneous.   Navajo Nation, do we create a healthy work
environment for our Navajo people (92% of all employees of Fire Rock Casino) by
going smoke-free? Or do we continue to create an environment that is toxic and
deadly?

The NNGE claim they have put in the “finest ventilation systems” for the casino.
There is NOT one ventilation system that will effectively clear out the cancer
causing chemicals; creating nonsmoking sections will not work. Air expands and
is permeable. Smoke-filled air gets into one’s clothes, carpets, walls, furniture, etc.
If you spend ten minutes in a smoke-filled environment your clothes will smell like
smoke. Imagine what happens to your lungs?? Exposure to smoke affects your
body immediately! Exposure to secondhand smoke will cause cancer, respiratory
diseases, infertility, heart diseases, and sudden infant death syndrome. Is our
current healthcare system funded well enough to handle these new diseases?
Navajo Nation, we are a culture that bases their thoughts and decisions on the
principle of “Hozho”. Let us begin to do this together for the Navajo Nation
people. Let us create healthy work environment for our people.

Sincerely,

Patricia Nez Henderson, MD, MPH
(Originally from Teesto, AZ and a voting member of Teesto Chapter)
Vice President, Black Hills Center for American Indian Health

Posted here, 08/12/2009

A Healthy Work Environment:
Patricia Nez Henderson's 'Letter to the
Editor' of The Navajo Times

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Click here to download the following letter, then save it as a .doc Word file

Please Click here to download the above letter, then save as a .doc Word file

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Our Purpose Is
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Patricia Nez Henderson's
Important Letter to the Editor
of The Navajo Times
Please click here to read,
here to download Word file