As New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was putting the finishing touches on his annual “State of the State” speech in Trenton last Friday, members of CEASE — Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects — appeared on YouTube calling for action by state legislators to ban smoking in Atlantic City casinos.
The co-founders of the group – Borgata dealers Pete Naccarelli, Nicole Vitola, and Lamont White – urged the legislature to pass a bill by April 15 that would ban all forms of smoking inside the nine casinos.
“We are calling on the legislature to send a bill to Governor Murphy’s desk to close the casino smoking loophole by April 15,” Naccarelli said in the video. “This date marks 17 years since the Clean Indoor Air Act took effect for most indoor workplaces, except for casinos. This makes us essentially the only group of workers in the state forced to choose between our health and a paycheck. The state of our health is poor, and it’s past time for the state to address it.”
While demands on the legislature aren’t usually met with immediate action, it’s fair to wonder what’s holding the bill up. After all, the majority of the legislature backs the bill, and Murphy has already said he’d sign it if and when it lands on his desk.
“We’re not politicians, but we have so many co-sponsors, 72 out of 120 in the legislature co-sponsoring our bill,” Lamont White, another founding member of CEASE, told NJ Online Gambling last month. “If the people want it, and the politicians want it, why should it be held back by a couple of powerful individuals?”
“Too many of us have been dealt diagnoses of cancer, heart disease, asthma and more,” Vitola said in the video. “We’ve had to breathe this poison through pregnancies, while receiving treatment for cancer, and while wondering what exactly is happening to our health as yet another smoker lights up three feet in front of us, not giving a damn about our well-being.
“Twenty-three of 40 senators are co-sponsoring S264. Fifty-one of 80 Assembly members are co-sponsoring A2151. These bills will pass easily. The only remaining hurdle is leadership. The legislature has the power to save lives by urging action on a popular bill that a strong majority of New Jerseyans support.”
Smoking was banned in Atlantic City’s casinos due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as the pandemic waned, the ban was lifted in late 2021.
Even industry leaders have acknowledged the probability of a change in the future.
“There is a time for this, at some point,” Mark Giannantonio, the chief executive of Resorts and president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, told The New York Times in November. “It’s just not the right time.”
But White, the third co-founder of CEASE, strongly disagrees about waiting.
“The casinos are stalling, and will always find a reason for why now is not the right time,” he said in the video. “Enough already.”
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