Casino employees have fought against smoking rules for years, citing their fears of harmful effects wrestling from long-term exposure. Campaigns in Atlantic City and other states have even resulted in workers going on strike after negotiations stalled.
Atlantic City casinos worry that banning smoking will lead gamblers to frequent definitions in nearby Pennsylvania, which allows smoking inside casinos, resulting in a decrease in jobs and revenue.
Casino employees disagree with that sentiment and argue that no-smoking casinos in other states perform just fine and that their health is more important than the casinos’ bottom line.
Casino Employees Against Smoking's Harmful Effects (CEASE), which works in Atlantic City and other states, condemned Burzichelli’s proposal (SB 2651). The group said it was straight from Big Tobacco and did not benefit the workers.
“This bill would retain the same level of smoking as is currently permitted and will not decrease in any way the amount of exposure workers have to secondhand smoke,” said the group’s statement.
CEASE also noted that the only bill with enough support to be signed into law is a total smoking ban.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network also joined the outcry and encouraged local lawmakers to reject Burzichelli's bill.
“Since the 1980s, we've known that secondhand smoke can cause cancer, along with a host of other devastating health effects, like heart disease,” said a statement from the group. “Yet despite the crystal-clear proof that exposure to secondhand smoke is bad, and that smoke-free laws work, lawmakers continue to force Atlantic City workers to choose between their paycheck and breathing in secondhand smoke.”
