Atlantic City casino workers plan ad blitz to ban smoking after court rejects ban

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A group of Atlantic City casino workers seeking to ban smoking in the gambling halls will launch an advertising campaign featuring their children in response to a judge's rejection of a lawsuit that would have ended smoking in the nine casinos.

The workers, calling themselves Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects, said Wednesday the digital ads will target the districts of state lawmakers who have the power to advance pending legislation that would ban smoking in the casinos.

And a labor union that brought the unsuccessful lawsuit said it would withdraw from the state AFL-CIO over the issue, saying the parent labor group has not supported the health and safety of workers.

On Friday, a state judge rejected the lawsuit, ruling the workers' claim that New Jersey's Constitution guarantees them a right to safety “is not well-settled law” and that they were unlikely to prevail with such a claim.