Lesley Stedman Weidenbeners’ article in the Courier Press noted testimony on behalf of the Argosy Casino in opposition to the proposed statewide smoking ban. They were among the businesses who said they would be hurt by a smoking ban. Possibly not the most sympathetic of causes. And, they weaken the property rights argument of the other businesses. If other businesses were contesting a gambling ban, as opposed to a smoking ban, in their own establishments, you’d figure Argosy, beneficiary of a partial monopoly on gambling, would be in favor of government restrictions on what takes place on other people’s property. And, of course, some legislators probably figure that reducing gambling through a smoking ban is a little extra added bonus.

It causes a drop in business,” said Richard Klemp, vice president of government relations for Penn National Gaming, which owns Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg. He estimated that 50 percent of the riverboat’s customers are smokers.

50%? That’s remarkable. What is the rate of smoking among the population as a whole? Would more non-smokers be attracted to the casinos if there was a smoking ban? Is there some underlying characteristic that makes people prone to smoking also prone to gambling?

On the other side of the equation:

Bruce Hetrick of Indianapolis told lawmakers that he lost his 49-year-old wife to cancer that doctors said was caused by secondhand smoke she inhaled in part while working in a newsroom where editors smoked. Hetrick said he promised her he’d continue the fight for a smoking ban.

“You don’t kill businesses by making them smoke-free,” Hetrick said. “You kill workers by making them inhale smoke.”