Zona de Azar Brazil – Brazil: They Ask to Eliminate “Smoking Zones” from the Casino and Bingo Project

Brazil.- June 27, 2024 www.zonadeazar.com Medical senators or senators linked to the health agenda want to remove from the project that allows the operation of casinos, bingo halls and Jogo do Bicho the provision that smoking rooms be created in the country.

In the opinion of these parliamentarians, the measure is considered a “jabuti” – common jargon in Congress to refer to changes to projects that include topics other than the original topic.

Since 2011, a law prohibits the creation of closed areas reserved for smokers. The measure was regulated in 2014.

When approved by the Chamber of Deputies, the text that regulates games of chance included two provisions that contradict current legislation. During the vote in the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) of the Senate, the articles were maintained by the parliamentarians.

According to the text, “establishments authorized to operate casino and bingo games must have areas reserved for smokers.”

‘Wrong idea’

The president of the Social Affairs Commission (CAS) of the Senate, responsible for debates on health, Senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE), also a doctor, describes the text as “error” and “madness.”

The parliamentarian believes that smoking areas concentrate the exposure of smokers to harmful components, while at the same time they do not offer sufficient protection to non-smokers.

“Brazil developed a successful strategy to combat smoking and protect people who come into contact with smoke. The end of the smoking area was an important step forward,” he says.

The senator says that he will present an amendment to eliminate the measure from the project and, if it is not approved, he will ask President Lula to veto the device.

“The tobacco industry is interested in making it easier for people to smoke. And casino and bingo owners are interested in making sure that people do not interrupt the game to smoke,” says Costa.

Also a doctor, the leader of the PSD, Otto Alencar (BA), describes the recreation of smoking areas as a “regression.”

“This will make it easier and can greatly compromise your health. How many people die each year from lung cancer? “Nicotine has a cumulative effect, causing several diseases that are very harmful to health,” he assesses.

Two other parliamentarians who are part of the CAS, privately, criticized the measure and believe that it should be eliminated from the text during the vote on the proposal in plenary. One of them advocates holding a public hearing on the issue.

Tight vote

In an interview with Estudio I, the rapporteur of the project in the Senate, Irajá (PSD-TO), said that this is not the main point of discussion of the proposal.

“The smoking area is a discussion that also has to be considered, obviously. We must worry about this, increasingly curbing the practice, use and consumption of cigarettes, whether electronic or traditional. But this agenda [of authorizing gambling] is a social and economic agenda. We need to remember this. “It is about strengthening national tourism, an industry that generates millions of jobs in Brazil,” he stated.

At g1, the president of the Brazilian Society of Pulmonology and Physiology (SBPT), dr. Margareth Dalcolmo assessed that the provisions provided for in the proposal represent a “delay.”

“Another absolutely senseless, unjustified and grotesque attempt to regain any freedom from this harmful habit,” she said.

The proposal was approved last week by the CCJ of the Senate, in a close vote with 14 votes in favor and 12 against. The text faces resistance in Congress, mainly from the most conservative parliamentarians and also from the evangelical bench. Source

Edited: @_fonta www.zonadeazar.com