Summary
- Farleigh Dickinson University survey shows adult residents want smoking privileges to remain as-is.
- Over 50% of those surveyed are happy with the current smoking situation.
- Some even favor allowing expanding smoking.
Over the past few years, a hot topic of debate within United States casinos is smoking. Most venues are relatively smoke free, with designated areas for smoking visitors. In New Jersey, casinos in Atlantic City still allow smoking inside and some lawmakers are trying to change that. Operators say this would be detrimental to their services and would cause losses, but lawmakers want to protect the health of casino employees and guests.
A recent survey in the state shows that apparently, residents in the Garden State are okay with smoking as it currently stands. The majority of those surveyed are in favor of keeping things just the way they are.
Results of the Smoking Survey
Fairleigh Dickinson University recently completed a survey of just over 800 adults in New Jersey. The random survey was conducted to see how people stand on the subject of smoking in Atlantic City casinos.
A total of 56% stated they would like things to stay the same. Right now, casinos in the area allow up to 25% of the gaming floor for smokers. Surprisingly, 12% of those surveyed said they would approve a smoking expansion for other areas of the casino floor.
Around 29% of those surveyed said they would support making casinos go smoke-free. This is somewhat surprising considering the number of smokers in the US seems to have lowered in recent years.
It’s interesting to note that a study by Stockton University showed that around 62% of those questioned would be supportive of a smoking ban. It seems that the overall answer would not be clear unless a vote took place in the entire state.
What’s the Problem?
Casinos say that asking their players to go outside to smoke would result in a reduction of gameplay. Some would even leave to avoid having to do the back and forth to smoke after a short gaming session. According to the Casino Association of New Jersey, as many as 2,500 jobs would be at risk.
Some feel that there needs to be concessions so that smoking can take place and employees can remain healthy. It’s a balancing act that will be quite difficult to figure out. A smoking ban would protect workers from secondhand smoke, but if gaming decreases, some will lose their jobs.
Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects is a group of casino employees that want to see smoking banned. The group recent appeared in Trenton to speak their mind about smoking and employee health.
Assembly Bill 2151 and Senate Bill 264 are currently sitting in Legislature and should have enough support to move forward. It will be interesting to see what happens if these measures pass.
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