Casino Employees in Atlantic City Contend with Potential Cancer Link from Workplace Smoking Exposure
Atlantic City casino workers, grappling with health issues they suspect are linked to the air quality, claim that the constant inhalation of tobacco smoke, still permitted in certain areas of these casinos, is a significant factor in their diagnoses.
Smoking inside Atlantic City casinos is still legal in up to 25% of the floor space. Each casino can designate a smoking section, although the state law doesn’t necessitate these areas to be physically isolated from the non-smoking zones.
Despite the sophisticated air filtration systems installed in Atlantic City casinos, anti-smoking activists believe that the employee health remains under threat due to the smoking allowance. Two bills - Senate Bill 264 and Assembly Bill 2151 - are aiming to resolve the casino smoking loophole that came about through New Jersey’s 2006 indoor smoking law.
On Thursday, the Assembly Health Committee and Assembly Tourism, Gaming, and the Arts Committee convened to discuss the ongoing cigarettes permittance in casinos. The leading anti-smoking movement in Atlantic City, Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE), presented several casino workers who have been given cancer diagnoses to stress the importance of eliminating harmful smoke from casino floors.
Urgency Amplified
CEASE, represented by co-leaders Pete Naccarelli, Nicole Vitola, and Lamont White, have advocated against casino smoking, arguing that it jeopardizes employee health.
During Thursday’s casino discussion in the Assembly committees, CEASE requested cancer-stricken casino workers to share their experiences.
I can't help but ponder if my illness would have occurred if the casinos hadn’t forced me to work in a cloud of second-hand smoke,” said Tammy Brady, a Borgata employee dealing with stage 2 breast cancer.
Holly Diebler, a table game dealer at Tropicana, revealed that she's undergoing chemotherapy for throat cancer.
I'm not certain about my lifespan. I adore my job. I don’t wish to leave it, but all my oncologists are advising me that this is a matter of life and death, Diebler emphasized.
The Mayo Clinic identifies tobacco use and "exposure to toxic substances at work" as major causes of throat cancer.
AB2151 and S264 enjoy bipartisan majority support in each legislative chamber, but the Democrat-controlled Legislature is reportedly delaying the smoking ban bills until the 2023 election. In November, all 120 state lawmakers will be up for re-election.
Time for Action
Though some leading Democrats in New Jersey may be postponing the efforts to ban indoor smoking in Atlantic City casinos, some Republicans assert that time is of the essence.
Assemblyman Don Guardian (R), the former mayor of Atlantic City, claimed it's high time that smoking is moved outdoors.
I don’t wish to take away your freedom to smoke yourself to death. I do wish to take away your freedom to make others smoking in a casino ill, Guardian said during the hearing.
The Casino Association of New Jersey and the leaders of the Unite Here Local 54 casino union oppose banning casino smoking. These interests argue that a tobacco ban would put Atlantic City at a disadvantage compared to casinos in neighboring Pennsylvania, where smoking is allowed on up to 50% of the gaming floors.
Union chief Bob McDevitt declared that he's no fan of cancer but is trying to safeguard jobs.
