Atlantic City casino workers went to court this week to protect their health and their lives, and any rational person should be able to appreciate why this is a compulsory step.
They can no longer tolerate the pernicious horror of second-hand smoke, which hovers over gaming floors like a toxic murk, poisoning their colleagues, and even killing a few. And their exasperation over the Legislature’s refusal to guarantee them a smoke-free environment has left them no choice but to pursue the legal protection that every other worker in our state takes for granted on the job.
But before the court hears an argument that seems glaringly obvious – that casino smoking violates their safety, not to mention the equal protection clause of the Constitution – it is worth noting that this action should not have been necessary, because those who continue to insist on preserving this ludicrous exception to our 2006 Smoke-Free Air Act are fundamentally ill-informed of the facts.
The gaming industry, casinos, and sympathetic lawmakers argue that a total ban could squeeze revenues and lead to massive layoffs, and there is a “compromise” bill that will continue to permit smoking areas, only this time with 15-foot buffers and enclosed smoking rooms that “stationary” employees – such as dealers – can refuse to work in. Of course, thousands of AC pit clerks, cocktail servers, and custodians have no such opt-out privilege, so they will continue to breathe poison, which is just their tough luck.
That bill’s sponsor, Sen. John Burzichelli, calls this an “incremental step to create better circumstances, where smokers can enjoy smoking and non-smokers don’t have smoke forced upon them….in large part.”
The CDC, of course, would gasp at that remark, and the death toll from second-hand smoke -- more than 40,000 Americans die from exposure each year – exposes the willful ignorance of the industry and its legislative allies.
“That compromise bill is complete bull,” said Nancy Erika Smith, the nonpareil attorney who represents the casino workers in their complaint, which names Gov. Murphy and health commissioner Kaitlan Baston as the defendants. “The CDC has is clear that there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke, and even brief exposure causes harm. The purpose of the Smoke-Free Air Act is to protect workers, not to protect the revenue of casinos.”
Sen. Joe Vitale, who has pushed for a full ban on casino smoking since 2007, is just as blunt: “There is no level of acceptable poison, and ventilation systems have been scientifically debunked as junk,” he said. “Indoor smoking areas with buffer zones are nonsensical. I’d like to know which casino owners are good with swimming in the non-peeing end of the pool.”
As for revenue being compromised by a total ban, 20 other states – including New York and Delaware – have already done it. Pennsylvania is also considering a ban. Burzichelli, repeating the industry banality that Jersey gamblers would hop the river and play in Pennsylvania if they were deprived of their dopamine rush, also fails to consider that its most profitable casino (PARX, just north of Philly) is smoke-free, and that every reputable poll has found that adult gamblers support a total ban by a 2-to-1 margin.
Burzichelli is not some loggerheaded legislator; he is a stellar public servant who may have genuine concerns of negative impacts. But he gives little credence to independent, data-informed studies such as the one published last year by Las Vegas-based C3 Gaming, which found that casinos without indoor smoking outperform their smoking counterparts.
Instead, he chooses to “trust that these guys understand who their players are,” and he’s confident that individual properties will go smoke-free if market forces dictate its practicality.
What he doesn’t explain is what this industry -- one that has always placed profits over worker safety -- has ever done to earn that trust.
“Should the marketplace dictate minimum wage? Child labor? Overtime laws?” Smith asked. “The market never protected workers. Laws protect workers. He wants to leave it up to the boss to decide how much safety to give workers? Ask him why there is no smoking in the Statehouse.”
“The casino industry has never cared about the well-being of their staff and the public, no matter what the science,” Vitale said. “So they perpetuate a false argument that is meant to mislead and frighten the Legislature.”
Even as casino workers go to court, Vitale will push for a Senate floor vote on a bill that bans casino smoking that he has championed for nearly two decades. We hope it will be superfluous. But when lives are at stake, benign indifference is not an option.
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