The New Jersey Senate voted 35-0 to eliminate a gaping hole in last year's indoor-smoking bill and ban smoking in casinos and horseracing simulcast centers, the Associated Press reported June 21.

The measure now moves to the state Assembly for consideration.

"When we approved the Smoke-Free Air Act last session, we were told that adding casinos to the smoking ban would hurt the industry," said bill cosponsor Sen. Shirley Turner. "However, as we've seen, the smoking ban in practice in New Jersey restaurants and bars, while it's taken some adjustment ... hasn't meant the end of the world."

The exemption was harshly criticized by casino workers, and the Atlantic City Council voted in February to require at least 75 percent of casino floors to be smoke-free. "Local efforts to control smoking in casinos have only shifted the problem from one area of the casino floor to another," said bill cosponsor Sen. Joseph Vitale. "If we're serious about putting the health of New Jerseyans first, we simply cannot accept a smoking ban that provides loopholes for casinos."

The Senate also approved a bill that would ban smoking in cars with children.