Problems with casinos smoking start up again in NJ

Problems with casinos smoking start up again in NJ

 Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE), an anti-smoking group in Atlantic City, is once again disputing what they call false claims that making casinos smoke-free would hurt their profits and could even lead to the closing of some casinos.
 woman smoking with a cigarette
 The most recent fight started because of something New Jersey Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald said.  Last weekend, he was speaking at a meeting of the Southern New Jersey Development Council.  Greenwald told CEASE that economic worries and the possibility of losing jobs if smoking is banned are more important than protecting casino workers from secondhand smoke.

 CEASE was quick to disagree with what it called "debunked" claims that people would lose their jobs.  Instead, the group says Greenwald's views are linked to campaign donations.

 Some big tobacco companies, like Philip Morris, have given tens of thousands of dollars to Majority Leader Greenwald's campaign. In a news release, Pete Naccarelli, co-founder of CEASE and a table game dealer in Atlantic City, said this.  "It's not a surprise that he wants to make smoking rooms for Philip Morris, which would put our lives in even more danger."

 "Greenwald has been one of the biggest problems with getting laws passed that would actually fix the problem."  The majority leader should stop blocking the bill that has wide support from both parties. This bill would finally close the smoking loophole in casinos and bring more people to Atlantic City who don't go there now because of the smoke.

 The UAW makes the call for votes on the floor
 Dan Vincente, who is the head of Region 8 for the United Auto Workers and works with dealers in Atlantic City, agreed with Naccarelli that Greenwald should put A2143, a bill that would close the smoking loophole, to a vote on the floor.

 The next day, Naccarelli criticised Nicholas Scutari, the head of the Senate, for not wanting to bring S1493 to a vote on the floor.  That is the exact form of the smoking ban law that was passed by the Senate.

 "President Scutari of the Senate should not wait any longer," Naccarelli said.  "A deal was made 18 years ago to make a hole in the law that puts our health at risk, and now our leaders are putting the problem off until later."