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Atlantic City casino employees are continuing to advocate for smoke-free environments on gaming floors across South Jersey.
Workers presented their side during an appellate court hearing earlier this week. Employees filed an appeal after a New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled in favor of Atlantic City casinos in August 2024.
Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) and United Auto Workers (UAW) were both on hand to deliver remarks to the three-judge court.
Statements from key anti-smoking stakeholders
Atlantic City casino workers filed the lawsuit in April 2024, citing unjust conditions they must face on the properties. Casinos are the only exemption to the New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act, which went into effect in 2006.
Nancy Erika Smith, the lawyer representing CEASE and the UAW, argues that allowing smoking inside casinos is unconstitutional. She said in a statement:
“Casino workers are expected to clock in to work every day despite inevitably facing a toxic environment that could cause countless health issues, including cancer, heart disease, and asthma.
“We’re asking the court to find the exemption in New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act unconstitutional and void it immediately. We hope this case will serve as a precedent for casinos across the country to close their smoking loopholes and stop poisoning their workers.”
Lamont White, longtime Atlantic City table games dealer and co-founder of CEASE, referenced something Smith said in court, in his statement. He added:
“Nancy said in court: ‘Mischief.’ I agree. What mischief keeps a bill from being moved by the primary sponsor in his own committee?”
It remains to be seen where the court stands on the issue of smoking. April 2026 will mark 20 years of the New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act, which has not been amended since it was enacted.
