Jump to full article: Gloucester County (NJ) Times, 2008-06-17
Intro: Sometimes, there's just no escape. Gamblers who have been puffing away in the entire floor space of Harrah's-Chester or Philadelphia Park casinos are in for a shock: Pennsylvania has just joined the club with a ban on public smoking.
The Neanderthals across the Delaware River are behind the curve on this one. It took 13 years for the Pennsylvania Legislature to enact the smoking ban that was signed Friday, and it's still weaker than New Jersey's two-year-old-plus law. . . .
If the industry thinks it must let gamblers smoke at machines and tables, then it must find a universal solution that won't risk others' health and stop pouting about how the state next door still allows uncontrolled smoking.
Pennsylvania no longer does, and it means cleaner lungs for its citizens. For many New Jersey entertainment businesses casinos, too, it means a clean shot at winning customers who can no longer smoke anywhere they want in Pennsylvania.
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