CEASE and Opponents of Casino Smoking in Atlanta Urge Kamala Harris to Join the Fight

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

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Last updated: July 18, 2022

After speaking at the 113th National Convention of the NAACP, held at the Atlantic City Convention Center, Vice President – Kamala Harris has new demands placed before her. A group opposed to casino smoking in Atlanta hopes to cause her to realize the health dangers of the loopholes in casino smoking.

Currently, casino smoking is allowed in designated areas within the nine resorts of Atlantic City. The goal of the opposing group is to cause the Vice President to see the health hazards casino workers are subjected to from secondhand smoke. As Harris meets with lawmakers in New Jersey, the Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) believes she should be aware that the environments are primarily toxic for pregnant women.

CEASE Gets the Backing of the New Jersey General Assembly and Senate

Nicole Vitola of CEASE, in an interview, stated that “Vice President Harris should know that as she meets with legislators about reproductive rights and health in Atlantic City today, pregnant casino workers are still forced to breathe secondhand smoke that puts their health and the health of their unborn baby at risk..”

CEASE seems to have the backing of the New Jersey General assembly on this cause. This is as a majority of the members in the New Jersey Senate and General assembly support the move to rewrite the 2006 clean air act. Currently, this act allows casinos to allow indoor smoking in only up to 24% of their floor spaces. The goal of these lawmakers is to close that loophole and forbid smoking in 100% of the casino’s floor space.

Although over 40 assembly persons and 15 senators back this move, the New Jersey Senate President isn’t eager to make a swift move. Nicholas Scutari, President of the New Jersey Senate, insists that the matter is a complex one and shouldn’t be dealt with in a hurry. Despite his support for entirely smoke-free casinos, he argues that this move might hurt the casino business.

Atlantic City Casinos Insist Smoke-Free Gaming Floors Would Negatively Affect Their Revenue

The claim of the nine Atlantic City Casinos might be the source of Senate President Scutari’s concern. According to the nine casinos, a smoke-free gaming floor would impact their annual revenue. They claim gaming revenue would be affected by 20-25%. This could hurt projects like the estimated $85m overhaul of the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City.

They also point out the danger in this by reviewing the annual gaming revenue of the previous years. Even though the industry had a $2.55 billion revenue in 2021, it was still 5% below 2019’s $2.68 billion annual revenue. They claim that the cause of this drop is the 2020 pandemic. Despite their 65% recovery from 2020, the casinos insist smoke-free gaming floors would further drop those numbers.

Representing CEASE in an interview, Nicole Vitola believes that employees’ health is paramount. She says that due to the diverse nature of the casino workforce, people of color are greatly harmed by secondhand smoke.

Vitola believes that the rewrite of the 2006 act is a matter of health equity for minority populations. She and the rest of the CEASE membership hope Kamala Harris will support their fight. They hope that as the Vice President stops at Atlantic City, she will give them her full backing.