Those Concerned With Impact of NYC Casino on AC Should Support Ending Indoor Smoking
Polling Shows 3-in-4 Voters from PA and NJ Are More Likely to Visit Smokefree Than Smoke-Filled AC Casinos
August 30, 2024 Trenton, NJ— Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR), released the following statement on what a new New York City casino would mean for Atlantic City:
“The new New York City casino will be smokefree by law, which will only help it attract more visitors. About 75% of New Jerseyans and Pennsylvanians are much more likely to visit Atlantic City casinos if they are completely smokefree. Atlantic City casino operators stand to gain business by joining their workers’ fight to close the casino smoking loophole.
“We are all tired of the sky-will-fall tactics from casino operators. Let’s not forget that casinos claimed during the PILOT negotiations in the legislature nearly three years ago that without such legislation to give them more tax breaks, several casinos would close. To date, that legislation has passed but not taken effect, and thankfully not a single casino has closed.
“Right now is a prime opportunity for Atlantic City casinos to end the outdated business practice of allowing indoor smoking. In addition to reducing problem gambling – no state has a higher rate of problem gambling than New Jersey – and protecting the wellbeing of their employees, casinos would make themselves more competitive with an overwhelming majority of guests who don’t want to visit a smoke-filled casino.”
Background
A Normington Petts poll from late 2023 finds that nearly three-in-four adults (74%) say they’re more likely to visit an entirely smokefree casino, while only 26% were less likely. Among non casino-goers, even more (76%) are more likely to visit a smokefree Atlantic City casino. Pennsylvanians (76%) and New Jerseyans (71%) living in the Philadelphia area are also more likely to visit a casino if it is smokefree. Read the polling memo here.
“These data indicate that not only will Atlantic City not lose its customer base, but tourism could actually increase if casinos were smokefree,” said Jill Normington, Partner at Normington Petts, who conducted the poll.
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ABOUT AMERICANS FOR NONSMOKERS’ RIGHTS
Sister organization to the ANR Foundation, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) is a member-supported, non-profit advocacy group that has been working for over 45 years, since 1976, to protect everyone’s right to breathe nontoxic air in workplaces and public places, from offices and airplanes to restaurants, bars, and casinos. ANR has continuously shined a light on the tobacco industry’s interference with sound and life-saving public health measures and successfully protected 61% of the population with local or statewide smokefree workplace, restaurant, and bar laws. ANR aims to close gaps in smokefree protections for workers in all workplaces, including bars, music venues, casinos, and hotels. For more information, please visit https://nonsmokersrights.org and https://smokefreecasinos.org.
