Senate committee to discuss Atlantic City casino smoking ban bill

A New Jersey committee will hold a hearing on the proposed smoking ban on February 13.

US.- The New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee will hold a hearing on February 13 to discuss a proposed law that would ban smoking in Atlantic City’s casinos. Atlantic City casino workers have been pushing for approval of the bill. 

Smoking is allowed at Atlantic City casinos as an exemption from the New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act of 2006. Senate Bill 264, which aims to close the casino smoking loophole, has been sitting in the New Jersey State House for more than a year. Governor Phil Murphy has said that he would sign such a bill.

See also: Poll shows most New Jersey residents would support a casino smoking ban

Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, said: “This hearing means that Atlantic City casino workers are one step closer to not having to choose between their health and a paycheck.

“It’s a historic moment in the fight to protect the health of thousands of New Jersey workers. Dealers bear the brunt of the dangerous secondhand smoke more harshly than anyone else working in casinos, and their voices must carry the most weight.”

Smoking at casinos was temporarily banned at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020 but was permitted again from July 2021.

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”.

See also: New Jersey’s 2022 gaming revenue reaches all-time high