John L. Smith

Smoking law shows how Nevada rules are made to be broken

To hear them tell it, Las Vegas tavern operators have lost boatloads of business because of the voter-approved Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act of 2006.

That's why they were represented this week at the Legislature as they tried to push through Assembly Bill 571, which would obscure the original intent of the state's toughest no-smoking law in yet another cloud of logic-choking exemption.

There's no question in the tavern owners' minds that the law cost them dearly. They were forced to either stop serving food or go out of pocket to create smoke barriers separating puffing customers from chicken wing eaters.

When they lost players, they blamed the law. When their bottom lines diminished, they blamed the law. When they terminated employees because business was down, they blamed the law.

While I wouldn't argue the law had some impact, the tavern owners also ignored a few inconvenient facts.

For starters, there's the fact the law has been enforced more in the media than in reality. The Clark County Health District hasn't been dispatching scores of cigarette cops on raids of smoke-filled taverns.

Then there's the fact the unemployment rate for beer-drinking, video poker-playing Southern Nevada construction workers has climbed toward 100 percent in recent years. It's rarely cited as a possible cause for the softening bottom line at the local watering holes.

The fact the Las Vegas home mortgage crisis and recession-era joblessness forced scores of locals to start spending their entertainment dollars on ramen noodles isn't often mentioned by bar bosses who were sick of playing by rules that others have been all too happy to ignore.

But with all that said, I can't blame the tavern owners for feeling put-upon. After all, the casinos were exempted from the Clean Indoor Air Act, and Strip resorts have traditionally been the unofficial Secondhand Smoke Capital of the World.

Then there's the other end of the spectrum, all those grandma-themed slot arcades such as Dotty's that managed to fly under the radar for years. They didn't have to comply with the letter of the law regarding food service for taverns with restricted slot licenses; you'd find better chow in a vending machine at the Greyhound station. They also didn't have to worry about creating a nonsmoking atmosphere in adherence with the new state law.

But when Dotty's locations started popping up across the valley like weeds in your desert landscaping, the Nevada Resort Association's neighborhood casino contingent needed help fighting the spread. Because the NRA is the 800-pound gorilla in every room, it relied on tavern owners to help make the case that all those lucrative Dotty's arcades violated the spirit and the intent of the law and weren't otherwise playing by the Vegas Rules. (No. 1 is the Golden Rule: The men with the gold make the rules.)

On Monday at the Legislature, observers heard that the smoking ban was not only bad for the tavern business, but for the convention business as well. It turns out two tobacco-themed conventions went elsewhere when organizers learned they wouldn't be able to smoke their brains out anywhere they pleased.

Starting to spot a pattern?

Rules are for little people. Only the little people of Nevada thought they were banning smoking when they voted for the smoking ban. Casino bosses, tavern owners, convention bookers and slot arcade moguls never believed it for a minute.

And who runs this state, anyway?

So now there's a push to pass AB 571, which would officially let the tavern owners off the hook. Casino operators are too big to hook.

That's Nevada, which is only about a decade behind most of the rest of the nation when it comes to limiting smoking areas. Around here, buying stock in Big Tobacco and Chemo R Us have always been smart investments.

Something smells in the Silver State, and it isn't just cigarette smoke.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.

Comments

Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

1. IowaVegas May 31, 2011 | 10:03 p.m. Report Abuse

   Dragon - are you on medication???? Yes I know that alcohol and gambling are bad. This is not a contest on the number one bad thing. They all have their issues. I said, and will say it again, These are all LEGAL activities that have restrictions put on them to mitigate the damage those legal activities do. I simply said that there needs to be another restriction put on smoking to protect people from second hand smoke. That's it. Seems like a simple statement. I never stated that one of those activities were the most dangerous thing in the world and I NEVER stated that there should be a prohibition on smoking. I don't care what someone does to their own body. Drink all you want, gamble all you desire, eat all the trans fat you can get your hands on, fornicate with reckless abandon, I DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU DO TO YOURSELF. But if you (or anyone) decide to pollute your lungs with poison (tobacco smoke) then you better not poison MY lungs. This obviously is an impossible concept for you to process. This is why people with your thought patterns are losing in the Indoor Secondhand smoke debate. You don't think logically, you can't reason rationally and you are in complete denial in the face of a mountain of medical evidence. Bury your head in the sand. The world is passing you by. Your ideas are a dinosaur. With that I will allow you the last word. I'm certain it will be on your own path down crazy land. Tell me this Dragon, What color is the sky in your world?

2. Green Dragon Regular May 31, 2011 | 10:13 a.m. Report Abuse

   @IowaVegas-
   
   Those who can't refute facts attack messengers. The whole point has sailed right over your pointy little head and splattered all over your portrait of Jimmy Carter. Alcohol and gambling contribute far more to diminished life expectancy of ALL people than does second-hand smoke, and yet, the consumption of alcohol and the practice of gambling are considered okay in certain environments. How then, can something that cannot and has not been demonstrably proven, by any medical research (dubious or otherwise), to be as great a threat, be singled out for such prohibition? The simple fact is- alcohol consumption, gambling, AND automobiles all have a far greater impact on people who don't imbibe, gamble, or drive than second-hand smoke does, yet they are all permitted.

3. IowaVegas May 30, 2011 | 10:08 p.m. Report Abuse

   To paraphrase Dan Aykroyd: "Dragon you are an ignorant (person)" FOCUS AND TRY TO PAY ATTENTION!!!! I stated that alcohol and gambling are BOTH HIGHLY regulated LEGAL activities. THE SAME AS SMOKING IS A LEGAL ACTIVITY. Alcohol and gambling both have restrictions at the point that they harm others. Smoking is a legal activity and should also have restrictions at the point the smoking harms others. HOW IS THAT STATEMENT SO HARD FOR YOU TO PROCESS???? I was not stating which activity was the most dangerous. There is no Blue Ribbon for hurting people. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HARM A FELLOW HUMAN BEING BY YOUR ACTIONS!!! That is the point of ANY restriction on legal activities. The links I listed were MEDICAL RESEARCH on the dangers of secondhand smoke. This is widely accepted by the MEDICAL community and highly accepted by society as a whole. SO my point is....Since secondhand smoke is harmful to human beings, there should be restrictions on the legal activity of smoking in enclosed areas. That is the justification for smoking bans. Your ignorance is making my head hurt. Should I resort to puppets and simple pie graphs or should I simply give up hope for you.?

4. Green Dragon Regular May 30, 2011 | 7:19 a.m. Report Abuse

   @IowaVegas-
   
   Your source that clearly demonstrates the dangers of second-hand smoke as compared to alcohol, gambling, and poverty is where, exactly?

5. IowaVegas May 29, 2011 | 11:25 p.m. Report Abuse

   Hey Dragon: Great links. Thanks for the article on the cost of alcoholism. I agree. There should be laws against hurting someone when drunk. That was my point. (Do you read my posts or just skim them?) The RJ link didn't work. Please double check next time you try to make a point. The article about poverty was quite sad but not really on target. It is an article about poverty in third world countries. They made a mention about polio being on the rise in Africa too. Extremely tragic and very disturbing. However we were having a discussion about indoor secondhand smoke in Las Vegas. Please try to focus.

6. Green Dragon Regular May 29, 2011 | 10:33 a.m. Report Abuse

   @IowaVegas-
   
   A few links for you, virtuous one- alcoholism.about.com/cs/costs/a/aa980415.htm- alcohol is a contributing factor in 40% of violent crime. Not to mention the astronomical drunk driving rate in LV (according to Nevada DPS, alcohol is a factor in nearly 40% of all fatal MVA's). Tell you what else, I challenge you to go into any number of local taverns and count the number of intoxicated patrons who have been cut off. When you can't find any, count the number of intoxicated patrons being served. Quit living in a world of theory when it comes to the societal impact of alcohol.
   
   Another link for you- www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/...13.../20669247.html
   If you don't think that kind of economic drain affects the quality (and quantity) of life where you live, then you have zero real understanding of the things which impact human lifespan.
   
   Here's another- www.twnside.org.sg/title/killer.htm. The most contributory factor to death is poverty. It tops most of the lists in most of the studies. It's followed by alcoholism and smoking. Many lists include living in an urban environment, and living around motor vehicles. NOT ONE STUDY LISTS SECOND-HAND SMOKE as a contributing factor to human mortality. Not one.
   Guess what the greatest cause of poverty is- oppression. It's not hard to argue that smokers are an oppressed class when it comes to their impact on your world as compared to drinkers and gamblers.
   
   Put those in your pipe and smoke 'em my beo-Prohibitionist friend.

7. IowaVegas May 28, 2011 | 7:17 p.m. Report Abuse

   Dragon: You don't affect me when you gamble or drink. Plus there are many restrictions to those legal activities. Nothing is more regulated than alchohol. Think about it. You can drink in only select locations, they limit the amount you can drink (intoxication is illegal and bars will cut you off) Gambling is also extremely regulated. Smoking is the least regulated legal activity. Out of the three of those, only smoking can negatively affect someone nearby. There is no secondhand alcohol or secondhand gambling. So get used to it. I and people like me are starting to stand up for our rights. Dragon feel free to gamble all you want, drink all you want I don't care as long as you stay away from my money while you gamble and don't drive drunk. Smokers are more than welcome to smoke their life away. I couldn't care less whhat a smoker does to his or her own body. But when we are in a place that we have equal legal right to be in, you will not harm me with your secondhand poison. IT'S RATIONAL, IT'S ETHICAL AND IT IS MOST CERTAINLY THE FUTURE.

8. Green Dragon Regular May 28, 2011 | 11:35 a.m. Report Abuse

   @IowaVegas-
   
   First problem- I don't smoke. Second problem- alcohol and gambling both shorten human lifespans too, so why stop with smoking?

9. IowaVegas May 27, 2011 | 10:37 p.m. Report Abuse

   That was my point Dragon. Way to keep up. Try paying attention when reading. The point was (try to pay attention this time Dragon). There are officially WAY more nonsmokers now than you smoking idiots. So guess what - YOU will take your butts outside to choke. It's our taverns noqw. Maybe we will let you come in if you beg. The change is coming Dragon. No matter how many times I post it, noone has argued that it will happen. YOU WILL TAKE YOUR POISON OUTSIDE!!! ACCEPT IT

10. Green Dragon Regular May 27, 2011 | 12:22 p.m. Report Abuse

    @IowaVegas-
    
    "This is about nonsmokers standing up for their rights. We are not going to tolerate you forcing your (choice of vice) on us anymore. If you don't like it you don't have to go to the taverns."
    
    Back atcha', virtuous tavern patron.

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