New Jersey Casinos Are Losing Because of the Punitive Smoking Laws

THE DOCTOR IS IN
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LAS VEGAS- Hello America, and how is the world treating you?

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is trying to formulate a plan to revitalize and revive gambling in Atlantic City. Even with Ravel opening in 2012, the casino revenues are down 30 percent. I should also say that outside competition is only going to increase. However, Atlantic City had the advantage of 30 years of gaming and they squandered the advantage by being a nanny-state with losing rules and regulations forcing people to change their behavior.

Here is a message, suggestion and advice to Governor Christie and all the rest of the governors in states like Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York. If you really want to compete you have to allow people to express their legal social choices as they see fit without the state stomping on their legal social pleasures.

First and foremost governors, the first move that you should undertake is repeal any and all smoking laws in your casinos. It is nice to be political correct and pass laws that sound like your state is going to take care of a person from the cradle to the grave and that the lawmakers ares going to take care of all of a person's health problems and keep them from dying but when it comes to what a person eats, drinks, and what they ingest into their own body (legal items) is that persons business

People with an agenda want to say second hand smoke will kill everyone around it. Come on! Use your common sense. All of the politicians and people over the age of 50 were brought up in smoke filled rooms. Smoking was prevalent in doctors offices, hotels, bars, and most every business and home in every city in the nation. All of those lawmakers and everyone else conducted business with smokers on an everyday basis and lo' and behold--- all of those lawmakers and lawyers, doctors, business people all raised intelligent children in that smoking atmosphere and it did not harm them. And, all of them are living and conducting business as usual.

Millions of tourists from all over the world want to come to the United States and drink, eat smoke and gamble without the strong arm of government regulations telling the what they can or cannot do.

If you really want to prove the point here's what you governors can do: Have one casino on one corner offer gambling, food, alcohol, and smoking. On the corner across the street have another casino off gaming, food, alcohol and have a total nonsmoking environment. I predict that the casino that offers smoking along with their other social pleasures will do more business than the casino that "does not" allow patrons to smoke.

Governors, let people make their own choices as to where they want to socialize. In fact, that is the real reason these groups that have an agenda want a law to umbrella all business rather than let the "free market" dictate profit. These groups are actually afraid that the business that offers smoking along with their attractions and offerings will do much more business than the nonsmoking establishment.

Governors, all there has to be is a sign stating whether the casino, bar, restaurant, etc., is a smoker friendly establishment or a totally nonsmoking business. In that way the patron can make their own decisions and choose what casino or business they prefer to socialize in.

If you truly believe that a whiff of tobacco smoke from one room that is separated by a closed door can kill a person in another room I'll sell you that bridge in Brooklyn. Lawmakers, all the senior citizens living today is a poster child for living in a smoking environment. Common sense people. That's the key. It's no secret that many of these scientific studies and clinical trials are skewed, and journal articles are fabricated for many reasons such as collecting grant monies, payoffs by chemical and pharmaceutical companies and even promote the authors recognition.

Don't blame all the ills of the world on smoking a cigarette or cigar. Just the pollution in our everyday air on any street in the USA carries more of a danger than someone exposed to a whiff of smoke. Medically, it would take a person standing a few inches apart in front of another person blowing smoke directly into their face continually for not days, not weeks and not months but years to have that person even have the chance of contracting a disease such as cancer.

It's similar to the scientists that pump cancer causing ingredients, food, drink, smoke and products into lab rats and mice. The scientists give the mice extraordinary doses of chemicals, sometimes a thousand times more than what an average person could ever ingest in their lifetime and then these same scientists proclaim that they a certain food, drink, chemical, etc., is bad for a human being.

Don't believe all of the self-serving studies that are put out there and look to the past and present as to how something may affect someone or something. What is good for one person may nor be good for everyone. People die of cancer and other devastating diseases everyday and it's not all because someone sittiing next to them smoked a cigarette . On the other hand you have people around the world that have smoked cigarettes and cigars, drank alcohol , gorged themselves on all of the fried foods, sweets, gravies, soft drinks, etc., and live to be in their 80's 90's and even more. You can see this played out every day around the world.

So, bottom line. Do not treat every person in the nation in a cookie cutter mold. Give the people choices and let them make their own decisions as to how they want to handle their health issues.

Let people smoke. Try my suggestion of smoking or nonsmoking businessesand see the proof will be in the pudding. The smoking establishment with out pace the nonsmoking business with more profits and customer count. What are you afraid of?