No Smoking…Not
Thursday, January 18, 2007
New Nevada smoking ban
Las Vegas: The Last Bastion of Smokers’ Rights. That’s how I thought of it when I came here in 1997 when I was doing publicity for a smoking cessation campaign sponsored by Nicorette Gum and the American Cancer Society. While I didn’t feel as though I had to wear Kevlar as I handed out literature and spoke to reporters in front of city hall, I did have the distinct feeling that I wasn’t particularly welcome. If you can’t smoke in Las Vegas, the message was, there’s something wrong with the world.
I had a hard time disagreeing with the locals, even as I dutifully reminded them that cigarette smoke is a toxic cocktail of over 4,000 chemicals” and other factoids I had memorized to carry out my assignment. I don’t smoke, but come on! If you can’t smoke in a city whose nickname is “Sin,” there really is something wrong with the world. Gambling, alcohol, sex… and no tobacco?
Well, fast forward to November, 2006, when a majority of Nevada voters (granted, a small subset of all Nevadans, but that’s another story) passed a law banning smoking in bars that serve food. Obviously, a lot has changed since my stint as a voice for Nicorette.
But some things haven’t changed. Even with the law, very few bars have actually removed ashtrays and put up the dreaded sign. A judge has been involved, and the Clark County sheriff has pretty much said he won’t be sending out cops to make arrests. The county’s health department is supposedly part of the enforcement picture, but I’m fairly certain that those nurses who give flu shots aren’t going to be haunting taverns to hand out tickets.
So the question remains… will Las Vegas restaurants and bars become smoke free? I had dinner in my neighborhood tavern tonight, where ashtrays remain and a few patrons were puffing away as usual. “We’ll wait and see,” the owner told me when I asked. “We can block off a section if we have to, but is it really fair that the big casinos can allow gamblers to smoke when we don’t?”
Well, no. It isn’t. Is it fair that I have to inhale somebody else’s toxic cocktail of over 4,000 chemicals when I go into a bar? No, it’s not. But that’s not really the issue here. The real issue is whether Nevadans will really go along with a law passed by a clear majority.
I guess we get to wait and see.
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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I’m so confused. I found this blog entry because I was trying to find out when Vegas reverted back to allow smoking. Friends of mine warned me not to go, after they’ve recently visited Vegas, because I absolutely can’t stand smoking, not the least for health / breathing reasons. The odd thing: I was there, in ‘99 or 2000, and I don’t remember it being smoky.
Could it be that there was a short time when smoking wasn’t allowed? Or could it be that, by accident, I managed to spend 3 days in a complete smokefree bubble? I don’t even recall anything stinking like ashtrays, even though I recall other places having that unbearable stench – and still remember being appalled at the smoke filled casinos on the Gulf Coast.
I’d be grateful if anybody could comment on this. Thank you in advance!!
There was never a time when smoking was outlawed in Las Vegas. Until very recently, this was one of the few remaining smoker’s havens in America. Gradually, some hotels are going smoke-free and some casinos — but I think that smoking will always be welcomed here, in some capacity.
Do you remember where you stayed?
Mark
Thank you, Mark, for replying to my question.
I’ve been looking through my documents but couldn’t find where I stayed that year. Maybe I did indeed pick the hotel based on their non-smoking policy and forgot all about it. And, who knows, maybe my nose kept me from going into any establishment where I wouldn’t have been able to breathe.
Oh well. I guess I’ll stay in Canada – no smoking on the gambling floor anywhere. Yeeha! And they are full, nobody staying away, just because they can’t smoke. Wouldn’t it likely be the same as with all those pubs in NYC who screamed and protested before the ban – and now they have *MORE* customers?