NJ Public Health Commission Backs Smokefree Casinos, Recommends Commr. Washington Take Action to Protect Workers
Commission Votes to Recommend Formal Resolution on Smokefree Casinos to Health Commissioner
Atlantic City, NJ —The New Jersey Public Health Commission took a decisive stand for worker safety on Monday, voting to recommend a resolution to New Jersey Health Commissioner Raymond E. Washington that calls for urgent action to address the casino smoking loophole. During the meeting, the Commission described smokefree casinos as a “straightforward” public health issue and spoke about the need to protect workers while legislative and legal battles continue.
Nicole Vitola, longtime Atlantic City casino worker and co-founder of Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE), submitted testimony to the hearing. As a table games dealer in a casino that allowed smoking, Vitola had to suffer through secondhand smoke exposure while pregnant because she had no viable alternatives that would allow her to provide for her family.
“Through the years, we have watched coworkers — people we have worked beside for decades — become seriously ill and, in some cases, die from diseases linked to prolonged smoke exposure,” said Vitola in her testimony. “Pregnant employees and workers with preexisting health conditions are forced to choose between protecting their health and keeping their paycheck and health insurance. No worker in New Jersey should have to make that choice, especially not an expecting mother.”
The Commission’s draft resolution, which will be published in the coming weeks, highlights several key points:
- The Department of Health should note that the burden of secondhand smoke falls disproportionately on moderate-to-low income workers who cannot just leave their job if they are impacted by the toxic air.
- The Department of Health should use New Jersey state data to show that there is evidence of smoking-related illness within the casino workforce.
- The Department of Health should use its authority to promote smokefree environments in the interim while legislation and a New Jersey Supreme Court case are pending.
CEASE is calling on the Health Commissioner to adopt the Commission’s recommendations and work towards establishing smokefree protections for casino workers. Furthermore, CEASE is urging Health Commissioner Washington to drop his office’s opposition to their lawsuit against the state’s casino smoking loophole and join the call for the legislature to finally pass the bipartisan bills that would end this outdated practice once and for all.
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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.
See what casino workers say about working in secondhand smoke: the Real Deal