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With a bill to ban smoking in casinos seemingly stalled in the Legislature, state Sen. Vince Polistina said Wednesday he plans to propose a new bill he said would not ban smoking but would remove casino workers from secondhand smoke exposure.
The casino smoking ban bill had been set for a hearing Thursday before the Senate Health Committee but was removed from schedule. A previously scheduled committee vote on the bill was delayed in November after lawmakers said they did not have the votes to advance it. At the time, senators said they were interested in compromise legislation.
Polistina
“It is disappointing that after two years of advocating and building support with our colleagues, we still do not have the necessary support in the Legislature to get a full smoking ban passed,” said Polistina, R-Atlantic. “I agree with others that the exemption probably shouldn’t have been part of the original law. The casinos believe that they can meet our goal of eliminating employee and patron exposure to secondhand smoke with a structured plan and additional capital investment into their properties over the next couple of years. Given that their concerns about potential job loss and closures have resonated with some lawmakers, this is the direction I believe we need to go so that we don’t lose momentum on this issue.”
New Jersey’s law banning smoking in public businesses specifically exempts Atlantic City’s casinos. Gov. Phil Murphy has said he would sign a full casino smoking ban if one made it to his desk.
The group Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects, which has spearheaded efforts to end casino smoking, released a statement late Wednesday expressing its disappointment in Polistina’s decision to draft a compromise rather than continue to fight for a full smoking ban.
“We are stunned that Senator Polistina is refusing to step up and offer to cast a key vote at tomorrow’s committee hearing. He has been with us at rallies for the last two-and-a-half years, he’s said all the right things, and he was supposed to be there for us when the rubber met the road,” the statement said. “Instead, he’s MIA. We call on him to show leadership to get this bill done in the next several weeks.”

The casino industry opposes a smoking ban, saying it would lose customers and revenue if smoking were banned while still being allowed in casinos in nearby states.
Meanwhile, a recent poll found nearly three-quarters of Philadelphia-area adults would visit Atlantic City casinos more if they were 100% smoke free.
Polistina said his new bill will provide for a compromise requested by the casino industry and local labor leaders but will also accommodate casino employees. According to the senator, the bill will:

Nearly three-quarters of Philadelphia-area adults would visit Atlantic City casinos more if they were 100% smoke free, an online poll by Washington, D.C.-based Normington Petts found.
• Eliminate smoking at table games
• Gradually reduce smoking at slots with minimum distances where slots can be located from table games over an 18-month period
• Create a stricter plan for additional capital investment over an 18-month period to construct areas that would allow smoking and a provision that would require employees to volunteer to work in those areas.
If enacted in early 2024, Polistina said, these measures would result in no smoking on the casino floor by the fall of 2025.
Staff Writer Michelle Brunetti Post contributed to this report.
Contact Dan Grote:
609-272-7234
dgrote@pressofac.com
Twitter @ACPress_Grote
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