Bill to ban smoking in Atlantic City casinos moves forward on 4th try in New Jersey Legislature
ABC News
A measure that would prohibit smoking in Atlantic City’s casinos has moved forward after three years of going nowhere
TRENTON, N.J. -- A measure that would prohibit smoking in Atlantic City's casinos moved forward Monday after three years of going nowhere, heartening casino workers who say they are literally sick and tired of having smoke blown in their faces at work.
The New Jersey Senate health committee approved a long-delayed bill to impose a smoking ban in Atlantic City's nine casinos.
It was the first step in a long chain of necessary approvals, and it came as the movement by many casino workers to implement a ban entered its fourth year.
The vote also touched off a confrontation among casino workers outside the state Capitol afterward, with supporters of a smoking ban and opponents of the proposal screaming at one another on the sidewalk before being separated by their respective camps.
And a prominent business group and a casino workers union warned that a smoking ban would be “an economic catastrophe” that would cost Atlantic City and the southern New Jersey region jobs and money.
