No More Smoking in Casinos?

The partial smoking ban in Atlantic City casinos is coming up again today. According to an excellent editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "Atlantic City Councilman G. Bruce Ward is introducing a bill today that would allow his peers do what they should have had the courage to do a year ago: ban smoking throughout the resort town's 11 casinos."

Right now, the casinos are under a partial smoking ban. Again, to quote the Inquirer op/ed, "A partial smoking ban simply makes no sense. It is dangerous public health policy. It exposes thousands of casino employees and millions of gamblers to the dangers of second-hand smoke."

You can read the rest of the opinion piece here.

I hope it passes. I don't care how much the casinos complain about loss of revenue. In 10 years, we'll look back on this and think what we do about when malls still allowed smoking: "What were we thinking?" And I still believe that what they lose in smoker's gambling money they make up with all the people who are going to restaurants and spending money in Atlantic City shops. The stench of smoke kept me away before, and it, in part, still does. Ban it and you'll be more likely to see me inside the casinos instead of just passing through on my way to another smokeless place.