Nicole Vitola, co-founder of CEASE, has now appealed in a letter to First Lady Tammy Murphy, calling for her support in the ongoing battle to end an exemption in public safety law that allows indoor smoking across New Jersey casinos.
CEASE Continues to Seek Public Support for Ending Indoor Smoking
Indoor smoking has become a particularly painful point for casino workers, with mounting evidence demonstrating that live dealers are exposed to second-hand smoke and are at an increased risk of developing cancer and other diseases.
Despite the evidence for the negative consequences of second-hand smoking and the risks faced by thousands of casino workers and their families, Vitola said, there has been no willingness on the part of the industry to end indoor smoking, with stakeholders citing the potential knock-on effect on casino finances that a prohibition could have.
“We urge you to use your voice to speak out on our behalf…This would be consistent not only with your priorities as First Lady over the last eight years but also with common sense and decency to ensure that every mother and child don’t face needless threats to their health. We are counting on leaders like you to do what we all know is the right thing,” the letter read.
However, there has been mounting evidence to the contrary, with examples from other states, showing that there has been no decline in casino revenue at venues that have prohibited indoor smoking, including in places such as Pennsylvania. Vitola’s appeal evoked the human toll paid by live dealers and casino staffers.
“Pregnant women are among the thousands of employees like us who are forced to breathe secondhand smoke on the job,” she said in a statement, citing the case of a Bally’s Casino employee, a casino dealer, who was pregnant and had to inhale second-hand smoking.
“She is terrified, with good reason: Strangers blow smoke in her face eight hours a day,” Vitola added. Some observers have objected that should live dealers do not want to inhale smoking, or fear for their health, they ought to find other employment.
Faulty Economic Rationale for Keeping Smoking Exemption
Vitola’s letter addressed this argument as well, arguing that people should not be forced to choose between their livelihoods, their health, and their child’s health, insisting that the economic rationale behind keeping the indoor smoking exemption was unjustifiable.
CEASE has been actively pushing for the end of the indoor smoking mandate for what is four years now. There has been a lot of support for ending the indoor smoking mandate, including from Governor Murphy, Speaker Coughlin and Senate President Scutari who have, nevertheless, been reluctant to act in the definitive terms that would make this become a reality.
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