Press Release - August 29th, 2024

Atlantic City, NJ – Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) praised U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11) for coming out in support of closing the casino smoking loophole during an event at Fairleigh Dickinson University on Tuesday. Sherrill emphasized that keeping indoor smoking would turn away visitors, younger ones in particular, from Atlantic City casinos. 

“We thank Rep. Sherrill for taking a commonsense approach in favor of ending indoor smoking at our workplaces, which will not only help attract more guests but save our lives,” said Nicole Vitola, Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) co-founder and longtime Atlantic City casino table games dealer. “We’ve been waiting too long for the end of this outdated business practice. It’s past time. We urge legislative leaders, including Assemblyman Bill Moen, to advance the bipartisan legislation that’s earned widespread support in Trenton. We should not have to choose between our health and a paycheck.”

ROI-NJ reported that Sherrill “questioned why there is a fight to allow smoking — something she feels hurts the city’s ability to attract the next generation.”

According to Politico: “[Sherrill] weighed in on policy debates happening 120 miles away in Atlantic City — whether smoking should be allowed in the city’s gambling halls. ‘I thought it was a weird fight to have, because to me that’s saying our [casino] clientele are all going to be older, right?’ she told a crowded room at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Madison campus. ‘Because younger people don’t smoke cigarettes in the same way. If you’re looking to younger people and the future, it seems like a weird fight to have.’”

Recent data from Gallup underscores this shift in attitudes and behaviors around smoking: “In the last three years, around 6% of people under 30 say they’ve smoked cigarettes in the past week — compared to 35% in the early 2000s.” This dramatic decline reflects a growing demand for smokefree environments, including entertainment venues like casinos.

Other New Jersey leaders, including Rep. Andy Kim, have recognized the benefits and have called for the elimination of indoor smoking in casinos. Rep. Kim spoke at a press conference in April with CEASE and United Auto Workers (UAW) representatives. 

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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.