New Jersey Highlights

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States and in New Jersey. To address this enormous toll, the American Lung Association calls for the following actions to be taken by New Jersey’s elected officials:

The plight of New Jersey’s casino workers has become a major statewide issue and has garnered national attention. Unfortunately, promises have been made and broken from the legislature when it comes to passing a smokefree casinos bill. However, the longer the legislature continues to delay action, the more casino workers join the efforts to push for bill passage.

New Jersey continues to see an unholy alliance of the casino industry working side by side with the tobacco industry and its front groups. The organized interests in opposition to smokefree casinos use the tobacco industry’s playbook minimizing the health effects of employees who continue to be exposed to deadly secondhand smoke, while the industry exaggerates their economic arguments. Smokefree casinos are flourishing nationwide including right over the state line in Philadelphia. The industry has tried to push forward alternative “compromise bills”, which would continue to expose casino workers to secondhand smoke. The only thing that those bills do is continue to compromise the health of casino workers and they are non-starters.

In October of 2024, the American Lung Association was pleased to give the C. Everett Koop Unsung Hero Award to CEASE (Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects) at the Clearing the Air Conference. The C. Everett Koop Award honors the individuals who work to change policy to prevent kids from starting and help tobacco users quit. These unsung heroes are the ones who make a tobacco-free future possible by working to end the tobacco epidemic. CEASE leaders and members are frontline casino workers including table games dealers, slot techs, cleaning staff, and security officers. Many earn the minimum wage. With no background in politics or public health, these individuals have become seasoned spokespeople in the press and advocates with legislators. They have used their personal time to attend hearings, rallies, media events, and meetings with lawmakers and legislative staff in their efforts to achieve permanent smokefree workplace protections.

It is time for legislative leaders in Trenton to finally break the gridlock and commit to putting the health of casino workers first. New Jersey was an early national leader in smokefree efforts, but Atlantic City’s casino workers must be afforded the same smokefree protections that workers across the state have enjoyed for over two decades in 2025. Additionally, New Jersey needs to regain its nationwide leadership role by passing a significant tobacco excise tax, increasing tobacco control program funding and preventing the sale of flavored tobacco products.