Atlantic City, NJ – This morning, Politico’s New Jersey Playbook rounded up responses of 10 Democratic and Republican candidates for governor on their support for legislation to close the casino smoking loophole. Three candidates expressed full support for closing the loophole, while others supported compromises or said they needed to learn more about the issue.
Legislation introduced in both the Senate and the General Assembly has been held up by leadership de-spite garnering bipartisan support, including 17 cosponsors in the Senate and 42 in the Assembly.
Pete Naccarelli from CEASE released the following statement:
“We welcome the broad support from gubernatorial candidates—who all say they would prioritize workers’ health — but we don’t expect this will be an issue for the next governor, because Governor Murphy has vowed to sign legislation to protect our lives into law. It’s up to legislative leaders to get the job done as soon as possible. We have broad, bipartisan support for bills to close the casino loophole, and the backing of workers, multiple labor unions, and casino patrons.
“We’ve been living—and dying—through a compromise concocted nearly 20 years ago when casino workers were exempted from state law. Any candidate for office should reject Big Tobacco’s ideas for indoor smoking rooms and understand the real situation we face every day on the job. Casinos can build outdoor smoking areas that ensure everyone is accommodated, and they don’t need legislation to do this. The idea of compromise may sound good, but the details matter—and they are a matter of life or death.
“Just last month, the Surgeon General released a comprehensive report that emphasizes the dangers of secondhand smoke and the importance of protections for casino workers and patrons. It’s time to give casino workers the same protections that apply to nearly every other workplace in the state. We will make sure that our voices continue to be heard, and that every candidate knows the importance of the stance they take on this issue.”
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Casino Employees Against Smoking (Harmful) Effects (CEASE) is a group of thousands of casino dealers and other frontline gaming workers that formed after indoor smoking returned on July 4, 2021 in Atlantic City, NJ and has expanded to states around the country. CEASE is fighting to permanently remove smoking from our workplaces. For more information, visit ceasesmoking.org.
Read more about smokefree casinos.
See the Real Deal Videos about CEASE.
