Atlantic City now has much cleaner air since yesterday, April 15, when a new smoking law went into effect and limited smoking to no more than 25 percent of casino floors in the city.
Casinos in the city placed signs to inform patrons which areas are smoke-free and where they can indulge themselves in a cigarette. Only few people needed to be reminded not to smoke in smoke-free areas.
The law took effect yesterday exactly a year after New Jersey's Smoke-Free Air Act prohibited cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking in private office buildings, restaurants, bars, and other indoor places. Smoking in Casinos, however, remained unaffected.
The new law is a result of a compromise between Atlantic City and the casino industry in the city. While the city aimed to ban smoking completely in the city's 11 casinos, the casino industry objected, saying the move will result in a 20 percent loss of revenue and the termination of up to 3,400 casino employees.
The city's council passed an ordinance limiting smoking to no more than 25 percent of the casino floor, which will eventually require the casinos to build floor-to-ceiling enclosures with powerful ventilation systems to purify the air from the smoke.
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