Atlantic City casino smoking bill fails to gain support from Senate committee
Legislation to ban indoor smoking at Atlantic City casinos failed to gain enough support during a state Senate committee hearing Thursday.
The Senate Health, Human Services and Aging Committee was unable to gather enough votes to send the bill to the full Senate. This comes despite broad bipartisan support for casino smoking bans in every legislative chamber in the New Jersey Legislature.
Senate Bill 264 was introduced in January 2022 by Sens. Joseph Vitale (D-Northern Middlesex) and Shirley Turner (D-Mercer). The legislation proposes amending the state's 2006 Smoke-Free Air Act to close a loophole that allows casinos and simulcast facilities to reserve up to 25 percent of their gaming floor space for indoor smoking.
Vitale, chairman of the eight-member Senate Health Committee, said he passed the smoking bill with a slim majority. He apologized to scores of casino employees who drove to the capital, Trenton, hoping to make history with the first vote since the state's smoking law passed 17 years ago.
Encourage casino participation
Sen. Fred Madden (D-Gloucester), the committee's vice chairman, said more consideration should be given to solutions proposed by casinos before elected officials simply impose blanket smoking bans. One of the solutions for the gambling industry is to create fully enclosed gaming rooms where smoking is allowed.
The state casino lobby, known as the Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ), represents the interests of the nine Atlantic City casinos in Trenton. A study commissioned by CANJ on the economic impact of a comprehensive smoking ban found that up to £2,500 would be lost due to reduced gambling supply and revenue.
Madden said he was not seeking public office to "take away people's livelihoods," but acknowledged it was important to "put health first."
Casino employees seeking clean indoor air at work say Madden doesn't take their health seriously. Members of Casino Employees Against the Effects of Smoking (CEASE), the grassroots coalition pushing Senate Bill 264 and its Assembly counterpart, Bill 2151, said in a statement that they were unwilling to compromise.
We continue to have conversations with lawmakers to highlight the dangers of ideas proposed by casinos - such as Philip Morris smoking rooms, where workers are said to volunteer. This is a ridiculous idea and every legislator should reject it. We will not jeopardize our health. After all, we had been compromised for 17 years when the casino smoking gap first emerged,” the CEASE statement said.
CANJ President and Resorts President and CEO Mark Giannatonio welcomed the committee's decision, saying it showed "people are beginning to understand that this bill, as drafted, will have a significant negative impact on Atlantic City's economy."
Smoking rates are declining
Atlantic City gambling operators say the smoking ban will lead smoking gamblers to casinos in nearby Philadelphia, where indoor tobacco use continues.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking rates in the United States have dropped to historically low levels, with only one in nine adults being smokers. The CDC also rejected casinos on the grounds that their ventilation systems were adequate to protect guests and staff.
In February, federal health authorities said in their report "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Your Lungs" that the only way to protect public health in businesses is to ban smoking altogether. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found elevated levels of harmful particulate matter (PM) in areas of casino floors that are supposed to be smoke-free.
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Source: www.casino.org
