New Jersey Casino Employees Urge Governor to Push Smoking Ban

On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy looked forward to his State of the State address while lobbyists for a smoking ban in the state pushed for action. Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) released a video just before the address by Murphy to call for legislators to pass a smoking ban.

The group wants the ban in place by April 15, which is the date of the 17th anniversary of the smoke-free law in New Jersey. The law bans smoking within workplaces and indoor public areas. The ban was expanded over the years to include parks and beaches, but casinos remain immune.

A loophole within the Smoke-Free Air Act allows casinos to offer smoking within their premises. Legislation is currently under consideration that would remove the loophole and ban smoking for good.

Employees have been calling for changes for a while, wanting the work environment to be smoke-free. CEASE says that employees deserve to work in an environment that is smoke-free and not a danger to one’s health.

Those who work in casinos, particularly dealers and servers, are exposed to secondhand smoke regularly. Such exposure can have adverse effects, including major health issues over time. Depending on exposure, employees could be subject to respiratory issues or cancer.

Bipartisan legislation in the state currently has over 70 sponsors spread throughout the Senate and Assembly. The legislation was introduced last year and has yet to come up for a committee vote. In the past, Governor Murphy said he would support a smoking ban in Atlantic City, stating that casino games would continue to thrive.

While the Governor seems to be supportive, he is not pushing companies to make changes or legislators to move on the pending bill.

For casino operators, providers feel that losing the right to offer smoking will affect their bottom line. For months now, casinos have stated that revenues will dip considerably if smoking is not allowed. They say it would also cause job losses, something the locals cannot afford.

It is important to note that once the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing within the United States and casinos had reopened, smoking was not allowed. This includes New Jersey venues. The casinos could still see traffic, and the smoking ban did not seem to be a big deal. It is especially important to consider that this was an unsafe time in the US when the virus rapidly spread. Players were still willing to come to casinos, smoking or not.

Proponents of the smoking ban point this out and reiterate the fact that casinos were able to remain in business during COVID-19 highs and still see visitors despite not smoking. This fact does not seem to be enough to appease casino operators.

Unite Here Local 54, the local casino and hotel employees union in New Jersey saw its president recently commit on the matter. President Bob McDevitt spoke to local news outlets stating that New Jersey needs to wait until neighboring Pennsylvania bans smoking in casinos before the state moves forward.

For now, the issue seems to be somewhat tabled. It is unclear what steps CEASE will try to take next if its outreach to the Governor is not fruitful. Casino employees are hopeful that legislators will move the legislation to committee and vote on it to see if the measure can move forward.

It will be interesting to see in the coming days if the legislation makes any movement or if the smoking issue will continue to be a problem in the state.