Atlantic City casino workers take smoking ban campaign national

Casino workers are fighting to end indoor smoking at casinos.

10/13/22

Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects (CEASE) has established new chapters in two states.

US.- Atlantic City casino workers’ campaign to end smoking at casinos is going national. The Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects (CEASE), which formed last year, has unveiled plans to extend into new states.

Lamont White, one of the group’s founders, said CEASE had been fielding interest from casino employees across the US who want to make their workplaces smoke-free. Chapters in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania have already been established.

“Casino workers from other areas in the country are becoming interested in our progress and ready to join the fight,” he said.

Speaking at The Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip, CEASE co-founder Peter Naccarelli said : “This is not just a moment. This is a movement. We are here to tell the casino employees of Las Vegas and everywhere around the country to contact CEASE, and let’s work together to get rid of smoking in casinos.”

Smoking is allowed inside commercial casinos in 16 states: Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.

In Atlantic City, smoking is allowed in casinos despite the New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act of 2006. Legislators in the Senate and the Assembly are co-sponsoring Bill S264, which aims to close the casino smoking loophole. Governor Phil Murphy has said that he would sign such a bill.

Casinos have largely remained opposed to a ban. The Casino Association of New Jersey, the trade group for Atlantic City’s nine casinos, commissioned a report predicting widespread job losses and revenue declines if smoking were banned. In June, Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International warned Governor Murphy about “economic challenges”.