[Coney]

I think the pressure to go smoke free in AC came from the workers and their organizations. With the scarcity of jobs, especially good paying ones, workers aren't quickly quitting their jobs because they may not be able to easily find another. The smoke is an occupational hazard. If there is such equipment, I suppose the casinos could outfit their employees with masks and special suits like workers might wear in a nuclear power plant, or firefighters wear, but they wouldn't be aethetically appealing and that's a big part of the attraction in casinos. Then there are the anti-discrimination laws for people with disabilities. They would have to accommodate employees with respiratory problems or who were born with some sort of pulmonary dysfunctional condition or some other problem that is exasperated by being subject to cigarette smoke. If memory serves me, this was the can of worms opened by an AC employee lawsuit that contributed to the ban on smoking in casinos. I believe that there have been other lawsuits by casino employees who were accommdated by being placed in a different postion at the casino, but these new positions had less opportunity for career and salary advancement.

[LasVegasPlayer]

Originally Posted by Coney

I think the pressure to go smoke free in AC came from the workers and their organizations........ If memory serves me, this was the can of worms opened by an AC employee lawsuit that contributed to the ban on smoking in casinos.

Smoking in Atlantic City casinos is permitted. The local ordinance banning smoking in casinos only lasted a month back in 2008. It devastated gaming revenue and the Atlantic City Council repealed it.

Smoking back at Atlantic City casinos after one-month ban | The Herald-Dispatch

NJ state law permits gaming establishments, including casinos, bingo halls and off track betting facilities, to allow smoking, even though it bans it in bars and virtually anywhere else.

Revel attempted to go smoke-free when it opened in 2012. It was a disaster. I doubt you will see any move to ban smoking in AC for quite some time after that, especially considering how bad the economic situation is there.

[oeccscclhjhn]

Originally Posted by LasVegasPlayer

Smoking in Atlantic City casinos is permitted. The local ordinance banning smoking in casinos only lasted a month back in 2008. It devastated gaming revenue and the Atlantic City Council repealed it.

Smoking back at Atlantic City casinos after one-month ban | The Herald-Dispatch

NJ state law permits gaming establishments, including casinos, bingo halls and off track betting facilities, to allow smoking, even though it bans it in bars and virtually anywhere else.

Revel attempted to go smoke-free when it opened in 2012. It was a disaster. I doubt you will see any move to ban smoking in AC for quite some time after that, especially considering how bad the economic situation is there.

They tried it. It didn't work. It won't work here either. Fly those Asian whale smokers to Vegas and let'm light up.

[kimba01]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

How can there be much profit in having to carry hundreds of brands for smokers?

If CVS is so concerned about our health, however, why the huge end caps full of sodas, potato chips and the like?

Because apparently obesity is a protected right. Like sitting next to someone, on that smoke-free flight, who is spilling into your seat. Don't say a word about it or you will get slapped with a obesity racism card. Guess it is their right to take up half your seat.

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

While I agree completely with this question, the answer is that smoking is different from junk food. It just is. Smokers are apparently blind to it.

Obesity is hard to be blind to. They just don't care enough.

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

There used to be rows and rows of cigarettes at the check-out counter at CVS. But you can find those same rows and rows of cigarettes at Walgreens. Just saw it a couple days ago. There are rows and rows of cigarettes right now at the Smith's where I shop. They're in the middle of the check-out lanes, in a glass case. Dozens of different brands. I'll bet that doesn't last very much longer.

What? You actually went in a store with those dastardly things? Don't exaggerate, Smiths has ONE checkout with smoking products, which I didn't know was even there for years.

[pommysmommy]

I have to say that I have gambled, as a tourist, next to locals who smoke like chimneys. I think a ban would definitely hurt the casinos.

[Packard fan]

Smoking: if a smoker wants to "light up"; I'm Ok with that BUT, I DON'T wanna breathe the 2 hand smoke. Let smokers do the "E Cig" thing; as far as I care, those should remain legal. It's a thing for be because I live 1 mile from Laughlin.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by Packard fan

Smoking: if a smoker wants to "light up"; I'm Ok with that BUT, I DON'T wanna breathe the 2 hand smoke. Let smokers do the "E Cig" thing; as far as I care, those should remain legal. It's a thing for be because I live 1 mile from Laughlin.

This is how nearly everyone feels. And this is the reason why "the trend is not smoker's friend" as stated in the title of this thread.

I used to smoke cigars for fook's* sake. I was one of those "conscientious smokers" who smoked outside, far away from doors and windows, and toss my nub into the chiminea when I was done. Naturally, I smoked more in the winter than summer.

The REASON I was one of those conscientious smokers is that I'm married to my wife. She's one of the majority who lumps cigarette smoke into the same category as "war" and "famine" and "pestilence." And I'm here to tell smokers that people like her outnumber them 3:1. Even in Las Vegas.

Let's assume for a moment that second-hand smoke isn't harmful at all. Totally freakin' unlikely. But we'll assume.

We can all agree that my "right to swing my arm" ends at the tip of the other guy's nose, right? But what if I just brushed up against his nose lightly, not causing any injury? (But being totally freakin' annoying about it.) And let's say I do this CONSTANTLY. I'm totally addicted to swinging my arm and brushing the tips of other people's noses. And let's say that I rub a mixture of Ben Gay and Tobasco sauce on my hands, just to crank the annoyance to 11. I am not hurting ANYONE. I'm just annoying the living [excrement] out of people.

What gives me the right to do that? Obviously, I don't have that right. It's ridiculous to think so. And it's the same with smoking. Even if it doesn't hurt anyone other than the smoker, it annoys the living [excrement] out of people.

So, BEST CASE SCENARIO, people who smoke in public places are unbelievably rude. That's the best case scenario. If second hand smoke is indeed harmful, people who smoke in public places are a bunch of goddamn bullies. And since the Centers for Disease Control thinks second-hand smoke is harmful, I'm prone to agree with them.

The day is fast approaching where so few smokers draw breath (ha!) that nobody will care what they think about anti-smoking rules and being shut out of public places.



* Lee Ho Fook was a dear friend, after all.

[swagger]

Scoop, whatever car you drive, I don't like it. I think it should be banned. It's incredibly ugly and offensive to see. Get it off the road, because MY COMFORT is more important than any decision you might choose to make.

[logline]

Originally Posted by swagger

Scoop, whatever car you drive, I don't like it. I think it should be banned. It's incredibly ugly and offensive to see. Get it off the road, because MY COMFORT is more important than any decision you might choose to make.

You're never going to win this debate, Swagger. Stop trying to justify your smoking with straw men arguments. Your comparing apples to orangutans... and you know it.

[ScoopLV]

Non-smokers are not interfering with the basic enjoyment of life of smokers. But smokers ARE interfering with the basic enjoyment of life for non-smokers. Smokers have no right to smoke in public places. They ALSO have no right to flick their butts everywhere. And I do mean EVERYWHERE. Where do you think all those cigarette butts are coming from when I'm forced to remove them from my front yard and driveway every week? Inconsiderate non-smokers?

What these people are saying boils down to, "My special snowflake addiction is more important that your right to breathe clean, non-toxic air." You betcha there are some entitlement issues at play here. But it's not the non-smokers who are having them. In an entitled smoker's* PERFECT WORLD, everything would be non-smoking except for them. They actually prefer airplanes that don't smell like ashtrays and restaurants that don't smell like ashtrays. They just want the ability to feed their addiction in those places.


* I completely understand that there are considerate smokers out there. People who NEVER toss their butts anywhere but in an ashtray, ask "may I smoke," and have the common decency to smoke outside rather than in public. I know many such people personally. And I hope they don't misconstrue my comments as being directed toward THEM. But I also hope that they quit smoking -- because addiction sucks. Nicotine isn't a pleasant addiction for the addict. I know this first hand.