New Jersey--"The Assembly Environment Committee unanimously passed the Clean Indoor Air Act, which would eliminate smoking in common areas of casinos, restaurants, bars, banks, hotels and other indoor public places. It now heads to the Assembly Health Committee.
Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union Local 54 agrees. The union represents 17,000 hospitality workers in southern New Jersey, including 14,000 in casinos. "We have many members who come to me complaining about secondhand smoke," President Robert McDevitt said.
While seemingly few argue against the health benefits of a smoke-free workplace, opponents warn of financial harm. Casino officials estimate that 40 percent to 50 percent of their gamblers smoke, and casinos oblige them by handing out thousands of free cigarettes every day.
In Delaware, racetrack operators blame a smoking ban enacted Nov. 27 for a 10 percent decline in slot-machine revenue over the past two months. Bruce McKee, general manager of Midway Slots at Harrington Raceway in central Delaware, said the ban especially irks out-of-state visitors unfamiliar with the new law.
"I think it will have an adverse, material impact on Atlantic City," said Bruce McKee, a former Trump executive. Dennis Gomes said he has mixed feelings about a smoking ban. He's president of resort operations for Tropicana parent Aztar Corp. and "a health nut." The country's largest smokefree advocacy group says hospitality workers deserve this bill.
"No worker should have to breathe something that causes cancer just to have a job," said Joseph Cherner, president of SmokeFree Educational Services in New York. "Doctors, lawyers, and reporters don't have to breathe it. It's not fair to subject this group to it."
Smoke-free legislation is nothing new in New Jersey, but Assembly Leader Joseph Roberts said he made a pledge to "seriously consider" it this year.
State Sen. Bill Gormley, R-Atlantic, a staunch advocate for the casino industry, said he favors a partial ban that provides smoke-free areas in public buildings, as some casinos have already done.
"It might be this year in New Jersey or next year in New Jersey, but you would have to be blind not to see that it is going to happen," he said.