Atlantic City Casino Smoking Bill Fails Due to Lack of Support by Senate

Despite the strong bipartisan support in each legislative chamber of the New Jersey Legislature for the casino smoking measure, the Atlantic City Casino Smoking Bill failed to receive the necessary support. Due to not rallying enough votes, The Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee couldn’t even forward the Bill to the Senate.

According to the Atlantic City Casinos, a ban like that could lead to thousands of job cuts due to the reduced play and consequently decrease revenue, directly affecting the local economy. On the other hand, those who were in favor of the ban pointed out that the health of the casino workers and non-smoking visitors should be placed as a priority.

A Loophole Exploited

The initiative to relocate smoking outside the premises all over Atlantic City was presented last year in January, via Senate Bill 264. It was supposed to represent the first notable step towards amending the state’s smoking law passed 17 years ago.

Senators Joseph Vitale (D-Northern Middlesex) and Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) suggested the state’s 2006 Smoke-Free Air Act should be revised, as the loophole it contains allows casinos and simulcasting venues to permit indoor smoking in up to 25% of their space.

As far as Senator Vitale, who chairs the eight-member Senate Health Committee, noted, the smoking statute wasn’t passed because of being a vote shy of having a majority.

The Number of Smokers on the Continuous Decline

Those advocating against the ban point out that the decision to prohibit smoking in Atlantic City Casinos would see consumers looking for alternative places to gamble. For example, they would head to casinos in Philadelphia, where indoor smoking is not banned.

On the brighter side, the current state of events may easily change during some of the future legislative sessions, as the US smoking rate has reached an all-time low.

Based on the research made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in nine adults identifies themselves as smokers, which is a small, yet noteworthy decrease compared to previous years. For the sake of comparison, in the mid-1960s, 42% of adults in the United States were smokers, while in 2021, the number dropped to 11.5%.

According to the data published in the “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Your Lungs” report, the elevated levels of dangerous Particulate Matter (PM) in casino areas which are supposedly classified as smoke-free zones. For that reason, the CDC insists that ventilation systems installed in the casinos do not provide adequate protection to workers and visitors.

Is There Room for Compromise?

Encouraging casinos to come up with some proposals to avoid a complete ban, but still protect the guests and employees, Senator Fred Madden (D-Gloucester), the vice-chair of the committee, pointed out that “there should be more consideration of floated solutions”.

One such suggestion is the establishment of Philip Morris smoking rooms in which workers would supposedly volunteer to work. However, this idea was classified as absurd.

Meanwhile, the Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ), which represents the interests of the nine Atlantic City casinos in Trenton, claims that a ban would lead to huge job losses. On the other hand, members of Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) insist that they are not willing to make more compromises.

Source:

“Atlantic City Casino Smoking Bill Fails to Muster Senate Committee Support”, casino.org, December 1, 2023.