Report: Atlantic City, New Jersey Casinos Failing To Enforce Smoking Ban

Report: Atlantic City Casinos Failing To Enforce Smoking Ban

April 24, 2011 5:07 PM

(Credit: Abdullah Pope/AFP/Getty Images)

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Local, News

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – Atlantic City and casino officials are mostly failing to enforce the measure that bans smoking on most areas of casino floors, according to a published report.

After nearly banning smoking altogether at casinos, the city imposed the partial ban in 2007. The change of heart came when the economy crashed and casinos feared a complete smoking ban would cost them more customers.

As a compromise, smoking was banned from 75 percent of casino floors. And casinos were allowed to construct enclosed smoking lounges on the remaining floor area.

But The Press of Atlantic City, which reviewed city records and recently observed floor activity in all 11 casinos, found enforcement of the smoking ban has been virtually nonexistent.

City health officials say limited resources have hampered efforts to enforce the ban.

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Report: Atlantic City Casinos Failing To Enforce Smoking Ban

TT

Without a doubt smoking is bad for your health!! I quit for five years and fell off the wagon when my mom died. However, the equal rights of a smoker have been totally stripped in “hotels”, “bars”, “casinos”, on the “beach”, especially “outdoors”. We stayed at one of the Disney resorts that had a wooded theme with a very quiet setting. I had to walk 2 blocks to a smoking area. If I’m spending $300 a night for my stay, I expect to be able to sit out front of the room to smoke. Yet the people 4 doors down are sitting outside their room DRINKING, SMOKING POT, and God know what else….. I have to walk TWO BLOCKS TO SMOKE; but it is O.K. that MY GRANDCHELDREN HAVE TO SMELL “POT”!!!! It is getting out of hand.
The government should spend more time worrying about the world drug and alcohol. “Drugs and Alcohol” as well as smoking cause health problems; additionally, it causes people to have mental issues. It is a well known fact that people that are into drugs and alcohol live a life of destruction to themselves, their families, friends, neighbors, etc. Additionally, the world of DRUGS IS ALSO A WORLD OF CRIME!
JEN

BAN SMOKING
The voice of reason

How about letting the casinos choose to be smoking or nonsmoking. If there is such high demand for nonsmoking casinos, they will be built. Same applies to every other smoking ban out there, if there is a demand for smoke free restaurants, someone will build them. Smoke free bars, what a joke. If you go into a bar, you have already decided your health is not a top priority. Bars are where people go to let loose and party, nothing healthy ever goes on in a bar room. IF THERE IS SUCH HIGH DEMAND FOR NONSMOKING VENUES< THEN THEY WOULD BE BUILT. Forcing a business to choose between its customers is unjust and i am pretty sure 100 years ago would have been illegal.
Guess Who

If you give a smoker an inch, he’ll take a yard. Better to have a complete ban.

Peter

Well aside from it being the law, you’d think that since 80 percent or more of the public don’t smoke the least they could do is make an area for non-smokers that isn’t full of toxic smoke in the casino. Many states have totally banned smoking in casinos so the New Jersey casinos were very lucky to begin with. And states wouldn’t be able to do ban smoking anywhere and withstand court challenges if it hadn’t been proven many times over that secondhand smoke is harmful to people’s health. And never mind giving the non-smoking staff a place to go for at least part of their day that isn’t smoke filled.

Peter

So who is supposed to be enforcing this and what are the penalties for not complying with the ban supposed to be? Let’s get moving on enforcement now that the casinos are obviously not complying. Or are their political contributions to certain policians high enough that laws don’t apply to these casinos?