Governor Murphy Should Cement His Legacy As a Man of His Phrase and Protector of Public Well being by Signing Smokefree Laws
For Speedy Launch:
December 18, 2025
Contact:
ceasesmokingnj@gmail.com
Trenton, NJ — Over the previous 4 years, on line casino employees have been preventing to shut the loophole in New Jersey’s Clear Indoor Act and lengthen smokefree protections to on line casino employees. This combat shouldn’t have been essential—after issuing a brief moratorium on smoking in casinos throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Phil Murphy lifted the restriction on July 4, 2021, forcing employees to as soon as once more bear the brunt of poisonous secondhand smoke. 4 years later, this worker-led motion continues to be preventing for our proper to wash air. As Governor Murphy’s time in workplace involves a detailed, On line casino Staff Towards Smoking Results (CEASE) is calling on him to cement his legacy as a person of his phrase by pushing the legislature to go present bipartisan laws that might the on line casino smoking loophole to be despatched to his desk throughout the lame duck session.
“Since 2021, Governor Murphy has voiced his help for closing the on line casino smoking loophole, stating unequivocally that if a invoice got here to his desk, he would signal it into regulation,” mentioned Pete Naccarelli, longtime Atlantic Metropolis desk video games vendor and co-founder of CEASE. “We’ve heard him say this time and again, and it’s merely not sufficient. At the moment, smokefree on line casino laws continues to be stalled within the legislature whereas Governor Murphy turns a blind eye. Nearly 80% of South Jersey voters say they might view the governor extra favorably if he signed a smokefree on line casino invoice into regulation. So why are we nonetheless preventing for our primary proper to breathe clear air within the office? It’s time for Governor Murphy to point out us the type of chief he actually is as he leaves public workplace. What is going to he select to be his legacy? Will he present us that he values public well being and financial prosperity, and that he champions the problems that matter most to his constituents?”
CEASE despatched a letter to Governor Murphy signed by 160 on line casino employees, calling on him to signal the smokefree on line casino invoice into regulation earlier than he leaves workplace. “Regardless of your verbal help, Governor Murphy, your actions have fallen brief,” says the letter. “Repeatedly, on line casino employees have requested you to take proactive motion to name on the legislature to ship a invoice to your desk. As a substitute of doing so, you’ve reversed course when requested, going so far as to propagate the false narrative that eliminating indoor smoking might negatively affect enterprise in Atlantic Metropolis. We each know this assertion is unfaithful: In September of 2022, you acknowledged in a public Q&A session that ‘on the finish of the day, we are going to nonetheless get good enterprise. Atlantic Metropolis is an American gem. We’ve bought the ocean and the opposite rivals don’t. And that is the fitting factor for our respective well being.’”
Learn the total letter right here.
Learn a timeline of Governor Murphy’s place and actions on smokefree casinos right here.
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On line casino Staff Towards Smoking (Dangerous) Results (CEASE) is a gaggle of 1000’s of on line casino sellers and different frontline gaming employees that shaped after indoor smoking returned on July 4, 2021 in Atlantic Metropolis, NJ and has expanded to states across the nation. CEASE is preventing to completely take away smoking from our workplaces.
See what on line casino employees say about working in secondhand smoke: the Actual Deal
See what on line casino employees’ children say about their mothers and dads who work in secondhand smoke: children of CEASE
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