New Jersey Non-smoke Group Plans Expansion to Other States

A recently formed group that opposes smoking within casino floors in an effort to protect the health of casino employees is planning to expand beyond Atlantic City and New Jersey, a new report reveals. 

CEASE Plans Statewide Expansion, Says Report

The Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects (CEASE) group was formed last year. The main goal of the employee organization is to protect the health of casino workers being impacted by secondhand smoke and eliminate smoking on casino floors. Although there is a law seeking to ensure a smoke-free environment for workers in New Jersey, the only exemption from that legislation are casinos. This loophole enabled casino operators to allow smoking on their gaming floors.

Although CEASE is currently active in Atlantic City, the organization has an arm based in Rhode Island as well. Now, according to CDC Gaming Reports, CEASE is planning to expand further to Pennsylvania, as well as Nevada. The announcement about the planned expansion came during a news conference on Tuesday taking place at Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas. Coincidence or not, the news conference took place at the same facility as the Global Gaming Expo that launched on Monday.

During the conference, CEASE’s co-founder, Pete Naccarelli, revealed that the organization wants to expand around the whole country and help eradicate smoking from casino floors. He urged casino employees to contact CEASE and collaborate with the group. At the same time, Naccarelli acknowledged that smoke-free campaigns have always met significant opposition from “industries that aren’t necessarily interested in change.” 

“We are here to tell the casino employees of Las Vegas and everywhere around the country to contact CEASE and let’s work together to get rid of smoking in casinos.“

Pete Naccarelli, co-founder of the Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects

Smoking Ban Discussion Continues

The announcement about the planned expansion of the employee organization that proposes to ban smoking further digs into a long-discussed topic. Much has been said and proposed previously about banning smoking in casinos. What’s more, during the pandemic, many operators – both tribal and commercial voluntarily implemented a smoke ban. While smoke-free casino floors became the new standard for some operators, others decided to resume smoking on casino floors. At the same time, casino operators that implemented a permanent smoke ban saw that their revenues weren’t impacted. This was a primary concern for the gambling industry which ultimately resulted in the discussion dragging on for decades now.

Focusing on New Jersey, lawmakers have gradually shifted their position to support the possibility of completely banning smoking from casinos. However, that can only be achieved through a legislative change. Still, there is a bill that calls to close the loophole allowing casinos to permit smoking on their casino floors but is yet to be voted on by the lawmakers in the state.