Balancing smokers, nonsmokers and health concerns: Delaware and California have banned all public smoking. Other states are looking at requiring separate, well-vented rooms. The problem is no one knows how much ventilation is enough.

• Author: Robbins, Leslie Teach

You can pull the slot machine handle until your arm gets tired or you run Out of money in a Delaware casino, but, as of November, you can't light up. Nor can you smoke in almost any indoor public place, including bowling alleys, restaurants, arenas, bars or break-rooms in offices.

Delaware joined California last spring when legislators passed a "no public smoking law" that went into effect the day after Thanksgiving.

Sponsors of the bill cited the need for laws that protect state residents and children from the potentially harmful effects of secondhand smoke. "This law is the right thing to do for the First State," said Senate sponsor David McBride. "It will be the most protective law in the nation against the harmful effects of secondhand smoke."

Pointing out that Delaware had one of the highest cancer death rates in the nation, Representative Robert Valihura Jr., a House sponsor of the legislation, said, "This legislation will go a long way toward lessening this health problem. Second-hand smoke is now being treated like any other environmental pollutant."

The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory council estimated slot machine revenues would dip by about $11.9 million in 2003, and the state's sports and gaming companies estimated Delaware could lose up to $57 million in annual revenue if smokers abandoned the state's three casinos.

TO VENT OR NOT TO VENT

As far as secondhand smoke is concerned, other states are weighing how to balance smokers' habits with a nonsmoking population approaching 75 percent. The battle is divided between public health officials, who contend there is no safe second-hand smoke exposure level, and the hospitality industry, which wants business owners to retain the right to accommodate smokers or voluntarily restrict smoking.

To restrict nonsmokers' exposure to second-hand smoke, states can take the path of Delaware and California, or they can require that businesses set up separate smoking sections with ventilation systems.

The exact amount of ventilation needed for safety in a smoking section, however, is not known. Larry Schoen of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating...