Below is a listing of the latest news on legislative issues and anti-smoking movements affecting your personal freedom and rights to enjoy cigars. Get Involved, Learn about the Issues, and Take Action!
Denville NJ council to take on smoking ban Tuesday
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| July 16th, 2010, 02:11 PM | New Jersey |
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The proposed ban is drawing attention outside Denville, with the leader of a New York City-based smokers' rights organization offering to cover the fines of anyone ticketed for lighting up.
The Denville proposal lists parking lots, bleachers, playgrounds and adjoining sidewalks among the prohibited locations. It specifies as prohibited items, cigars, cigarettes, pipes, "or any other matter or substance which contains tobacco."
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Atlantic City Casino Smoking Under Fire, Again
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| March 12th, 2009, 10:51 PM | New Jersey |
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MAR 12 - As Atlantic City casino revenues continue to plunge at a record pace, New Jersey lawmakers are considering an amendment that would once again eliminate smoking from casino floors.
The proposal would remove the exemption casinos enjoy under the New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act, passed in 2006. The new legislation would trump the current Atlantic City Council law, which restricts smoking in casinos to 25 percent of the floor.
The desire to eliminate smoking in Atlantic City's casinos is not new. The Atlantic City Council has tried three times, unsuccessfully, to rid the floor of smokers.
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N.J. Casinos Face Revenue Plunge, Smoking Ban
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| March 10th, 2009, 12:12 PM | New Jersey |
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MAR 10 - As Atlantic City casinos reported the biggest monthly revenue decline in the New Jersey gaming mecca's 30-year history, a state Senate committee considered a bill that would ban smoking in the gambling houses.
Revenues for the 11 casinos in the nation's second-largest gambling market fell 19.2 percent last month. Every casino in the city saw a decline, most by 20 percent or more. Several experienced a nearly 30 percent decline.
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Smoking ban on beach, boardwalk at issue
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| February 20th, 2009, 11:43 AM | New Jersey |
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BELMAR, FEB 20 — No ifs, ands or butts about it.
In an effort to reduce cigarette and cigar litter east of Ocean Avenue, the Borough Council will hold a public hearing at 1 p.m. Saturday on a proposal to eliminate designated smoking areas and ban smoking completely on the beaches and boardwalk. The total ban was recommended by the Environmental Commission.
"The problem with smoking is the amount of litter left behind. You can't walk 20 feet on the boardwalk without seeing a cigarette butt stuck in the cracks or in the dunes," Mayor Kenneth E. Pringle said.
Both Pringle and Councilwoman Meredith Brennan, who are nonsmokers, said they are neither for nor against the proposed plan, but want to hear from the public before making any decisions.
In 2001, the council adopted an ordinance that banned smoking on the beaches except in designated areas that are marked with a sign, the first smoking ban of its kind in Monmouth County. Smokers are only allowed to smoke within 50 feet of the poles and are subject to a $25 fine if they are found to have violated that rule. Persons who litter the beachfront property, including cigarette butts and other tobacco products, face a $100 fine and two days of community service if convicted.
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Poll: Jerseyans split on smoking in AC casinos
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| January 28th, 2009, 02:00 PM | New Jersey |
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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., JAN 28 - A new poll suggests New Jerseyans may be getting more tolerant of smoking in Atlantic City's 11 casinos.
Forty-seven percent of those surveyed in a Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll released Wednesday say smoking should be allowed in some part of the casinos while 39 percent say smoking should be banned altogether inside the casinos.
Other polls taken in recent years - before the bottom fell out of the economy - indicated stronger opposition to casino smoking.
The issue has been a burning one across the country for years: Casinos don't want to anger their smoking patrons, particularly during an economic crisis in which every dollar counts. But nonsmokers and many casino workers say their right to breathe clean air and work in a healthy environment is more important than profits.
Sixteen states offer smoke-free gambling, according to the New Jersey Group Against Smoking Pollution.
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