Posted on 04/23/2008 7:41:38 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084
Capping a battle that lasted more than a year, the Atlantic City Council voted 9-0 today to end the last major loophole to a tough statewide ban on smoking in public buildings that had conspicuously exempted gambling halls.
As a result, smoking will be prohibited on the gambling floor at all 11 Atlantic City casinos as of Oct. 15.
But patrons will still be able to light up in unstaffed smoking lounges away from the table games and slot machines, if the individual casinos choose to build them.
Casino workers -- many wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Nobody deserves to work in an ashtray" -- burst into sustained applause when the votes were counted and chanted "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
"The employees of Atlantic City's casinos have hit a jackpot of their own tonight," said Dr. Arnold M. Baskies, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society in New Jersey and New York. "Hardworking casino employees have been keeping Atlantic City's multibillion dollar casino industry on a roll, but have been gambling with their lives for far too long."
Mayor Scott Evans said he would sign the ordinance within 10 days.
"We're going to save lives with this," he said. "People are going to be able to come here and enjoy a nice, smoke-free environment."
More than two dozen states nationwide regulate smoking inside casinos, eight ban smoking altogether inside the gambling halls, and two others will impose a total ban starting in 2009, according to Karen Blumenfeld, policy director of the New Jersey Group Against Smoking Pollution.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Smoking stinks; he doesn’t smoke so nobody is allowed to smoke; as soon as all the state’s publicly attended businesses go smoke free, he and his warriors will storm your residences and smoke alarms will take on a whole new meaning.
How about a sidewalk tax; a scenery tax; a stoplight tax; a schoolbus tax...
Just a general share-the-misery sort of thing, eh?
You’re getting child support from that sickly bastard, huh [duck!]
“I think its a clear way for everyone to be happy.”
That is the crux of the issue. This is not about smokers’ happiness, nor is it about non-smokers’ happiness. It should only be a discussion about how the owner of the business/property decides to operate the business. Good business owners will operate in a manner that maximizes their profit. Therefore, they will be influenced by their market. That includes the type of environment they provide as well as the type of labor that they hire.
If people are willing to sit in a smoke filled casino being serviced by part time workers making low wages, then that is precisely what the casino will offer. However, if the customer prefers smoke free air and demand that they receive better service, from happier employees, then they will either adapt or get killed by an alternative casino.
When the state or union make demands, they are both acknowledging that their customers’ wishes are irrelavent. In other words, “damn the market, let’s dictate to the business and the customers what each will get.” Dictate is the key word here.....
When the article mentions that some employees were celebrating, I think it is appropriate that they are celebrating the dictating by the government, in other words they are celebrating a dictatorship. I doubt that they even see that side of it. Which is an indicator of the success of the NEA.
I appreciate your generous offer of an apology and I am very sorry to hear that you are suffering. I hope that you get better very soon.
That does seem to be the general zeitgeist of the country these days.
From Bicycle helmets to a recent proposal in MA by a state rep to remove low level product placement in stores because some children have hurt themselves on the rods used to hold the goods.
My proposal would be to enforce a papoose law; you walk into a store with an infant toddler, then you carry him or her.
But common sense and discretion and flexibility (certainly tolerance is not an virtue applied to nasty scumbag smokers), along with a general appreciation for individual liberties have been subsumed by the diktats of the State, for our benefit, of course.
Sidewalks, stoplights and schoolbusses are paid for by the local government, funded mostly through property taxes. There is no need for additional taxes. The scenery is free. The point was, if you want lifeguards and clean beaches, they aren't free. Somebody has to pay for them.
Don't expect a reply from him.....that's not how he plays.
He throws a bomb on a thread (always one post on a thread) and never returns to clean up his mess.
I don't know how to classify him, but thankfully his kind is rare.
If they aren’t free then why does the government own them?
My ex husband casino has that now. However the air filtration system is terrible. His casino has been sold over & over & IMO it looks to me like it may in time get torn down & a new one built. The new casino’s are so much better with the air filtration systems but they hire mostly part time. I know people who are working 2 part time casino jobs just to make ends meet.
Almost a weltenschaung.
I had to look it up.
So now I can reply.
Cig smoking is not as bad as manmade climate change.
60% of Americans would rather be blown up by a non smoking jihadi than be exposed to SHS!
Except you gotta consider that cigarette smoking is one of the primary causes of global warming.
Happy Birthday, Eric. Enjoy your time at Mohegan Sun. I’ll be enjoying my hubby’s birthday and having a good time in Vegas in a couple of weeks. :-)
Still got a couple of months of being in my 30’s. I’m not a geezer yet.
Well, hubby and I both have 9 years on you, bud! :-) We’ll be in Vegas for my birthday as well in July.
Thanks for the heads up. I’m surprised he is allowed to continue that behaviour.
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