Frankel bill to protect workers from secondhand smoke clears committee with bipartisan support
Rep. Dan B. Frankel September 30, 2025 | 12:40 PM
HARRISBURG, Sept. 30 – State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, today announced bipartisan committee approval of his bill to close loopholes in Pennsylvania’s Clean Indoor Air Act, marking an important step toward protecting workers from secondhand smoke.
“There’s nothing partisan about this – Democrats and Republicans agree that a blackjack dealer’s lungs deserve the same protection as an office worker’s,” Frankel said.
House Bill 880, which advanced 22-4, would extend the state’s indoor smoking ban to cover most bars, clubs and casinos that were exempted under Pennsylvania’s 2008 Clean Indoor Air Act and would explicitly cover e-cigarettes.
Frankel noted that much has changed since the prior bill passed, including an avalanche of public health data supporting smoking bans and a sharp decline in the popularity of smoking. A growing body of evidence shows that the feared economic consequences of smoking bans never came to pass and that there are far more consumers who won’t choose to subject themselves to smoking environments than smokers who will shun establishments where they cannot smoke inside.
“Only two in 10 Pennsylvanians smoke at this point – and going out in Pennsylvania shouldn’t feel like taking a time machine to a long-gone era before the science made clear that smoking was deadly,” Frankel said.
Under the Protecting Workers from Secondhand Smoke Act, the bill would:
- Close loopholes in the Clean Indoor Air Act that expose workers to cancer-causing secondhand smoke.
- Expand the definition of smoking to include e-cigarettes, addressing vaping-related health risks.
- Allow local governments to adopt stronger smoke-free ordinances than state law.
Under H.B. 880, smoking will remain allowable in cigar bars, outdoor patios and home offices. Private clubs will be able to allow smoking only if their employees and full membership vote every two years in favor of the policy.
The committee also passed a bipartisan amendment, 25-1, to bar smoking at bus stops.
Parx Casino, which consistently leads the commonwealth’s gaming industry in revenue, voluntarily went smoke free after the Covid-19 pandemic. Chief Operating Officer Marc Oppenheimer has reported that the smoking policy has dropped employee health care costs, improved morale and brought in new customers
The legislation now advances to the full House for consideration. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny.
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