Nevada’s smoking law is unfair to taverns

Robert Opp, Las Vegas

Wednesday, June 25, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

I read with interest your Saturday story on Nevada’s smoking law, which restricts smoking in public places, including taverns.

This unconstitutional, anti-business law was marketed to the Nevada public by very slick snake oil salesmen. We were given the idea that we had to pick one ballot question or the other when in fact a “no” vote for both of them would have stopped this absurd law in its tracks.

The assumption that hundreds of children were being harmed because of secondhand smoke in taverns was totally ridiculous. There are more children running around in large casinos on any given day than have ever set foot in a local tavern in their entire lifetime, yet the gaming areas of casinos are exempt.

Tavern operators who have 35 slot machines or more are exempt from the law because they are considered casinos, yet how can that be: I cannot play blackjack, craps or any other live table game in those places. They don’t sound like casinos to me.

Nonsmokers have the choice to go anywhere they like, including the thousands of nonsmoking eateries available to them. Smokers do not have the same option. If this law cannot be made fair to the smaller tavern owners, the ones suffering the most, then throw it out or make all gaming operators go nonsmoking.

I am surprised Nevada has not been litigated into oblivion over this farce. I can see why it appears that health inspectors want nothing to do with enforcing this abomination of a law.