EDITORIAL: Casinos shouldn't gamble with smoking
Nov. 15—Pennsylvania's government went all-in on casino gambling nearly 20 years ago largely because so many state residents had been losing their money for years in Atlantic City. State government leaders wanted to transfer that take to Pennsylvania.
Now, with Pennsylvania generating more gambling tax revenue than any other state, state lawmakers once again should take a cue from New Jersey, secure in the knowledge that it will not upset the competitive landscape.
Like their Pennsylvania counterparts, New Jersey lawmakers rolled over for casinos over the past few decades while wisely imposing smoking bans on every other kind of indoor activity, and many outdoor activities. The rule now, generally, is smoke if you must but keep it to yourself. The smoking bans have had major positive impacts on public health, including reduction in cancer incidence and mortality.
Now, New Jersey casino workers have had enough of being exposed to deadly second-hand smoke. They have pressured state lawmakers into moving a bill to ban all casino smoking. It has enough sponsors to ensure its passage it gets to floor votes.
The organization the workers formed to drive the reform, Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects, now has several chapters in Pennsylvania and other states with casino gambling.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania suspended all smoking-ban exceptions amid the pandemic but then reinstated the exceptions for the casinos. In Pennsylvania, some casinos have maintained the total bans, recognizing that smoking no longer is necessary to generate profit. Rather, as one New Jersey casino executive noted, smoking might keep away more potential customers than it attracts, given that the adult smoking rate has declined to about 11%.
There is no question that secondhand smoke is complicit in an array of deadly diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it still causes more than 33,000 deaths a year due to heart disease and another 7,000 due to cancer.
State lawmakers no longer can justify trading workers' health for money. They should follow New Jersey's lead in banning smoking at casinos or, better yet, take the lead.
