|
|
||
|
New Jersey Legislators Seek to Include Casino Gaming Centers in Anti-Smoking Act For some New Jersey legislators, the new
anti- smoking legislation that excludes some areas of casino
gaming centers is simply not sufficient. They protest that the
ban on smoking in New Jersey’s public spaces should be extended
to cover the casino gaming areas of Atlantic City’s 13 casinos,
as well as enclosed areas of horse-racing simulcasting sites
across the state. The bi- cameral group of legislators
infuriated by the casino gaming sites’ smoking law exemption is
comprised of Senators Joseph F. Vitale, a Democrat from
Middlesex, John H. Adler, a Democrat from Camden, and Shirley K.
Turner, a Democrat from Mercer, as well as Assemblyman Jim Vitale, who is currently serving as Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, said that his committee would debate the bill during an upcoming session. "We should clear the smoke out of the casinos so there's no blemish in Atlantic City on an otherwise good, new law," Vitale said. "The new bill will be a priority." Jim Whelan, who is a former mayor of Atlantic City, agreed that casino gaming centers should be made smoke- less. "The statewide smoking ban will not be a finished product until casino floors are smoke-free," he said. "It leaves more than 40,000 casino employees in a lurch."
|