So what's going on with the indoor smoking ban? Question 5, the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, was approved by voters last November and enacted a month later, brought before a district court judge, who stripped the law of its criminality and left its enforcement up to the Health District, which in the past couple of weeks has been talking about raising the fines for violators from $100 to $700 and has called on the tavern owners, whom this new law has most affected, to do a better job of enforcing it. But any regular pub-crawler in this town has seen the smoking continue. And so we asked a couple of people with insight to help clear things up.
Stephen Minagil, attorney for the Southern Nevada Health District:
Have you all heard from the people?
Oh yes: more than 1,300 of them. People call to report smoking. And the sentiments of the general public are supportive of the law.
Is this—enforcing the Clean Indoor Air Act—something the Health District had foreseen, or even wanted?
No. We weren't included in the making of this law. The tavern owners got Judge Douglas Herndon to toss out the criminal part of it (and the sheriff of Clark County and Henderson's police chief signed affidavits saying, "We can't figure out how to enforce this thing"), and that left us in a role we did not want.
We're no search squad.
Does the tavern owners' position make any sense to you at all?
No. Nothing they say makes any sense.
When do you see the air clearing on this issue?
It's clear. People understand it. We've instructed businesses what the law is. They're the ones who are deciding not to comply, the recalcitrant tavern owners. We just need to find an efficient way to start issuing citations.
Kenneth Droog, owner of the Smoke Ranch Junction and a board member of the Nevada Tavern Owners Association.
Have you all heard from the people?
Yeah. Every day. They say it's the most ridiculous thing in the world.
What kind of tangible impact has the law had on your business?
I've lost 40 percent of my business. I've had to close my kitchen, because smoking gamblers is where I generate my revenue, and it's forced me to lay off seven people.
Does the Health District's position make any sense to you?
Only if it were the same across the board. They went after us small guys, who don't have enough money to fight, and left the casinos alone, because they have more money than God. We don't even allow anyone under 21 in our establishment. You see kids running around casinos all the time. It's not a level playing field. I don't get it.
What do you think will become of this issue?
Our attorneys are doing what they can right now. But I don't think anything is gonna change. It will be the same catastrophe as it is now.