Atlantic City casino smoking cessation legislation gains support
Smoking is allowed on up to 25% of gaming floors at Atlantic City casinos. But that could soon change after passage of a bill in Trenton on Monday aimed at closing the gap in indoor tobacco use.
Senate Bill 1493 seeks to amend the New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act of 2006 to repeal the tobacco exemption for Atlantic City casinos. The bill passed the Senate Health, Human Services and Seniors Committee on Monday with bipartisan approval.
S1493 comes from Sen. Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex), who has campaigned for years to make nine oceanfront casinos smoke-free. That bill is his Casino Restoration Smoking Act, which passed the Senate last year as Bill 264.
In a 5-1 vote Monday, Vitale and fellow Democrats on the committee voted to advance the anti-casino smoking bill. Vitale joins Sens. Renee Burgess (D-Irvington), Raj Mukherjee (D-Jersey City), Senate President Pro Tempore Shirley Turner (D-Ewing Township) and Andrew Z Wake (D-Hillsboro) joins in.
Turner is the lead sponsor of S1493 and worked to combat casino smoking in previous legislative sessions. Turner and Zwick serve on the committee for Senators Troy Singleton (D-Moorestown) and Angela McKnight (D-Jersey City).
Two Republicans on the committee, Sens. Irvin Henry (R-Old Bridge) and Holly Schepisi (R-Westwood), abstained from the vote. Sen. Robert Singer (R-Lakewood) cast the minority vote.
Milestone for Casino Smoking
Trenton, the capital, has been trying to ban smoking in Atlantic City casinos for years. It’s been more than 18 years since most New Jersey workers gained the legal right to work in an environment free of toxic second-hand smoke.
Members of Casino Employees Against the Effects of Smoking (CEASE) say they can't wait any longer. A grassroots coalition founded in New Jersey has been building support for smoke-free casinos in Atlantic City. Since then, the group has grown and has offices in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Kansas and Virginia, where smoking is still allowed in casinos.
CEASE welcomed Monday’s committee vote.
We thank the Commission for voting to advance legislation that will immediately improve our working conditions and fully protect thousands of frontline casino workers from the dangers of secondhand smoke," the company said in a statement.
“Today is a great day in our fight for healthier workplaces, and we will not stop fighting for this legislation until we can finally breathe smoke-free air in our workplaces. We urge lawmakers to pass this bill in the Senate because any No one should be forced to choose between their health and their paycheck,” the release continued.
S1493 has been referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee for further consideration.
WORK AND HEALTH
Key to the legislative debate over Atlantic City casino smoking is determining whether a tobacco ban will cause the nine casinos to win less money in their gaming rooms. Two studies on this topic came to different conclusions.
The New Jersey Casino Association commissioned Spectrum Gaming, one of the most respected research firms in the U.S. gaming industry, to analyze the impact of the smoking ban.
Spectrum said in its 2022 report that a blanket smoking ban would result in a nearly 11% decline in total land-based gaming revenue in the first year after implementation. Spectrum said lower casino profits would result in a reduction in gambling taxes of up to $44 million and could lead to the loss of up to 2,500 jobs.
In a comparative study, C3 Gaming, which was only established in 2021, wrote in a 2022 research report titled "Assessment of Non-Smoking Trends After the Epidemic in the United States." Casinos' allowing indoor smoking is no longer critical to the health of gambling revenue.
C3 researchers dispute claims by Atlantic City casino managers that smoke-happy gamblers are moving their business to nearby Philadelphia. Several casinos there still allow smoking and cigars.
If New Jersey lawmakers close the smoking gap and ban smoking at Atlantic City casinos, the C3 report states: “Players from New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania would have only four options if they wanted to gamble in a smoking environment, and none offered the same Same gambling/entertainment experience in Atlantic City.”
Conclusion C3 relates to remaining indoor smoking in Live! Philadelphia Hotel & Casino, Harrah's Casino Philadelphia, River Casino Philadelphia, and Valley Forge Casino Resort.
Wind Creek Bethlehem, about an hour north of Philadelphia, also allows indoor smoking. However, the same cannot be said for Parks Casino Philadelphia, the state's richest casino.
Some New Jersey lawmakers, mostly Republicans, believe there may be solutions that better protect workers' health than imposing a blanket ban.New Jersey Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Atlantic) used to be a strong supporter of banning smoking in casinos, but changed his position after hearing about the casinos. He is reportedly considering introducing a charter bill that would continue to make casinos smoking-free. Some form of smoking is allowed indoors.
Ideas include a fully enclosed smoking room in which slot machines and some table games can be run. Casinos have assured lawmakers that only volunteers will be able to work in this environment.
CEASE members didn’t buy it.
"Sen. Polistina should not introduce what he calls a 'compromise' bill that would only endanger the health of Atlantic City workers," CEASE wrote. "Just a few weeks ago, he told workers that [S1493] didn't have the vote to get off the committee. But here we are celebrating this milestone. The train is about to leave the station and it's time for him to get on or off."
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Source: www.casino.org
