Gov. Murphy Reverses Decision Over Smoking at New Jersey Casinos

By Jerry Smith Staff Writer Updated: 09/23/2020

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Gov. Murphy Reverses Decision Over Smoking

Just days after issuing an executive order that allowed indoor dining and smoking at New Jersey casinos, Governor Phil Murphy has backtracked on part of his decision. Several days after signing the executive order, the governor decided to put a ban back on smoking on the very day it was set to resume.

Earlier last week, Murphy gave the go-ahead for casinos to start offering indoor dining and beverages, as well as smoking in areas that were already designated. This was all meant to resume last Friday, but on that same day, Murphy reversed his decision. This came after a huge amount of criticism from public health organizations relating to the reversal of the smoking ban.

Helping to Spread the Disease

According to public health officials, second-hand smoke indoors could potentially aid the spread of COVID-19. With casinos already being classed as super-spreader environments, the decision to allow smoking again was met with a lot of concern and criticism. In the end, it was decided that the risk of the virus spreading from allowing indoor smoking was too high.

Gov. Murphy spoke about his decision to ban smoking again on the same day it was set to resume at a press conference. He said:

I am announcing we will take administrative action to prohibit smoking in indoor casinos. We have looked closely at the science and agree with experts that have concluded that allowing smoking is too large a risk to take.

He also said that the number of new infection cases overnight had risen by almost 500, which brought the total in the area to over 193,000. There was also an increase in the number of COVID-19 deaths, which rose by seven.

John Armato and Vince Mazzeo, both assemblymen, said they welcomed the governor’s decision not to let indoor smoking at casinos go ahead after all. They both released a written statement saying that temporarily banning smoking in casinos was the best course of action in the current situation.

They went on to say that this was an important part of trying to combat a virus that can easily be transmitted through the air.

The two also said that the prohibition of smoking in casinos would help to ensure that everyone inside could access filtered, clean air. This, they said, was a key part of helping to slow down the transmission and spread of the virus, and that it would help to protect patrons and employees.

Concerns Among Employees and Patrons

According to reports, it was not just public health officials who voiced concerns about smoking being allowed to resume inside the casinos again. It was claimed that both employees and patrons of the area’s casinos were also concerned about the increased risk of infection stemming from people smoking inside the properties.

Now that the decision to allow smoking has been reversed, people can only remove their masks on the casino floor when drinking. There are designated places for dining inside the casinos, and smoking will now once again be outside until further notice.