New Jersey to go Surgical Smoke-Free

Publish Date: April 20, 2023

Since 2019, AORN members in New Jersey have been working to get surgical smoke evacuation legislation enacted, and their efforts came to fruition on Monday, March 13, when Governor Murphy signed A356/S732 into law.

The work began in August of 2019 when Asw. Nancy Muñoz, a nurse, introduced a bill to require facilities to adopt and implement policies to evacuate surgical smoke. Since that time and through the pandemic NJ AORN members advocated for the legislation and gathered letters of support to share with legislators to show the medical community’s support for this important legislation.

A256 and S732 were introduced in 2022 and work was quickly underway. In addition to the AORN NJ State Council’s advocacy work, the bills were supported by the New Jersey State Nurses Association (NJSNA), the State Society of Physician Assistants, the state organizations for both the nurse anesthetists and the anesthesiologists, and the Organization of Nurse Leaders.

New Jersey’s surgical smoke evacuation law takes effect on June 11, 2023. According to the enacted bill, the Commissioner of Health shall adopt rules and regulations for surgical smoke evacuation. AORN will work to support NJSNA’s advocacy during the regulatory process and keep members updated on the proposals and final rules and regulations.