No Smoking in Atlantic City starting in Fall 2008

The Atlantic City Council voted unanimously on April 23 to require all casinos there to be nonsmoking by Oct. 15 with the option of building enclosed smoking rooms. All of New Jersey’s 11 casinos are located in Atlantic City.

The Atlantic City Council voted unanimously on April 23 to require all casinos there to be nonsmoking by Oct. 15 with the option of building enclosed smoking rooms. All of New Jersey’s 11 casinos are located in Atlantic City.

Although the state law banned smoking indoors except for casinos, the current city ordinance restricted the smoking areas to 25 percent of the gaming floor of casinos. However, the smoking areas were not contiguous and not enclosed. Under the new ordinance, the enclosed smoking room(s) cannot exceed 25 percent of the gaming floor space and gaming will not be permitted inside. For casino employees this puts an end to their exposure to secondhand smoke.

“All of the indoor employees in the entire state were protected under the Clean Air Act, with the exception of the casino floor employees,” said Councilman Bruce Ward, a sponsor of the ordinance.

Vinny Rennich, a 25-year casino employee in Atlantic City who never smoked, was fired from his job as a casino floor supervisor soon after he underwent surgery for removal of part of his lung from breathing secondhand smoke. Rennich was relieved about the Council’s decision.

“I can’t get back what I lost,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to risk your life for a paycheck. Casino workers will now have a safe place to go to work. We’ve made history.”

“With the passage of the Atlantic City ordinance, you can bet Nevada is next,” said Stephanie Steinberg, chair of Greenwood, Colo.-based Smoke-Free Gaming.

Smoke-free laws apply to several states with gaming including California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Washington, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In Nevada, gaming establishments with a restricted gaming license—15 or fewer gaming devices—are required to be nonsmoking. England, France, New Zealand, most of Canada and other countries have 100 percent smoke-free casinos.