Comments on: Health District Sues Local Tavern Over Smoking Ban Violations

By: Smoke Hater

Smoke Hater — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:11:36 +0000

I am a native of Las Vegas and have lived my 30+ years of life being forced to injest other peoples’ deadly habits. It is about time the public are protected from second-hand smoke. It is a public health issue and the Health District should be commended for their efforts in trying to inforce the non-smoking ban in restaurants/bars which WE the people voted for. Restaruant/bars such as Timbers get around the ban by having seperate food areas and if other establishments have an issue with the ban they should comply like Timbers has.

Go smoke your inconsiderate brains out, if you should choose. But keep it to yourselves!

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:49:19 +0000

My wife and I visited Smoke Free Nevada last summer and loved it! We spent more money at restaurants and several bars than we normally would and we now plan to return to Smoke Free Nevada soon! Also, since then, my State of Illinois went Smoke Free including Gambling River Boats and it is great!! The retsaurants, bars, worker’s offices, factories and even the Gambling Boats are doing wonderfully. They are all finally smoke free. The Smoke Free Law is the best thing that ever happened to Illinois and also for Nevada!

By: Gina

Gina — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:24:09 +0000

All I know is that my daddy would still be alive today if he had never started smoking or had been able to quit. My sons no longer have a grandpa. I feel that if there were fewer places where people could smoke publicly that there perhaps would be less smokers or at least people smoking less. I know that since high school students are no longer allowed to smoke at school that the # of teen aged smokers has dropped dramatically. I begged my daddy to quit smoking in 1990. He did not. He’s been dead for two years now and my heart has a big hole in it. I miss my daddy so much.

By: Terri

Terri — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:59:06 +0000

I have smoked for 30 yrs.. I have always been curtious to others that dont smoke.. I cant beleive some of the comments about what it does to the air… get out on the freeway and drive into las vegas sometime.. the only thing that you can visually see is the needle at the top of the stratosphere…this smoking thing is a joke as is the rest of the bans going on.. I will continue to say one nation UNDER GOD while saluting the flag, I will continue to say MERRY CHRISTMAS not seasons greetings..I will paddle my childrens behind only hard enough they get the message..
and I will continue to smoke regardless of these morons who think they all have to have it all changed to make them feel importnant..
Go into a casino in vegas sometime .. the nonsmoking area is dead.. but you have all the non smokers playing the machines where everyone is smoking!!! and they still complain!!

By: Melanie

Melanie — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 19:40:05 +0000

I think it’s a conspiracy between the gaming commission, the big casino’s and the health district. Where else can you drink, smoke, AND eat? THE BIG CASINO’S…that’s where. Pretty clear to me. Forces the little guy to have to gamble if they want to drink, or pay 11.00 for a two dollar drink. This is a gambling, smoking, partying town…keep the little kids out of the casino’s and let business continue. I am a native Las Vegan, AND a smoker, and this smoking ban is nothing more than a way to put small business out of business and residents into the casino’s with all those people who are gonna go back home and talk shit about our town anyways. Another bit of proof is all the “free standing” night clubs that are not in casino’s are being bought up by the big hotels…so again, the locals have to go into the casino’s to drink and dance a little. Out of towners save all year to come here once or twice a year…we live here and pay the taxes and can’t enjoy our city for less than a weeks wages for a night out…don’t get me started…

By: Rick H

Rick H — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:59:13 +0000

I am a smoker. I have attempted to quit on several occasions without much luck. I believe, as I think most intelligent individuals, smokers or not, that smoking is a disgusting, unhealthy, and stinky habit. The costs involved with health care related issues caused by smoking are monumental. We all share in these costs whether we smoke or not. The answer to the smoking problem is not to pass a law which isolates the small Bar or tavern owner, protecting the large deep pocketed Mega Casinos. The answer is as clear as the nose on Jimmy Durante’s face: Outlaw cigarettes ! I am completely opposed to Government infringing on an individuals rights, but what purpose do cigarette’s serve, other than to cause mass health problems ? However, the Government, local, state, and/or federal only have the spine to take on these smaller business owners. The politicians that would need to take any type of action to outlaw cigarettes are put in office, and kept there, with the help of large campaign contributions from the tobacco industry. If anyone, non-smoker, or smoker, can tell me what positive contribution cigarettes make to society, I will apologize and retract my opinion. The only way we as every day citizens can really do something to make a positive difference is to write, or call our representatives, and tell them to do away with the cigarette industry completely. I smoke because so far, I have been to weak to quit. If cigarettes were not available, maybe I’d stand a better chance, and maybe, just maybe, everyone that is a smoker would live a longer, healthier life.

By: Ken Lanier

Ken Lanier — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:04:47 +0000

I am curious if any tavern owners who would like to have smoking in the places have ever looked into actually registering as a private bar, I dont know if legally this would make an establishment exempt from the current law but I have seen bars in dry towns ie Richardson, TX use this avenue to allow patrons to drink. They simply have a little membership (free) form buiit into there POS system. My understanding the law applies to public buildings serving food. This would give smokers a chance to have places to go, and for nonsmokers just continue to go to the public non-smoking establishments. It should all be about a choice of where you want to go. Not forced. There should be freedoms on both side of the fences. -Thanks, Ken Lanier

By: don wikinson

don wikinson — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:50:54 +0000

what kind of retard would invest his or her own money into bars and resturants when you have a local casino around every corner. way too much competition in this town for that. dr good says it all, period!

By: bob

bob — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:34:42 +0000

Dr Good would have a much different opinion if he invested his own money into bars and restaurants. Furthermore, political policy from the resort lobby never has had the publics best interest in mind when it affects gaming revenue. Whether you choose to believe the real figures in a business Dr Good knows nothing about,taverns are down 40 percent in gaming and hotels are on the increase. The tavern group was offered a buyout of this bill 4 years ago for half a million dollars to “make this issue go away”. They refused,put up question 4 which was horrible and lost the vote to non smokers who dont gamble. All this for a poorly written question 5 with no criminal liability. It has always been an economic issue, not a clean air issue. We all can agree that smoking is stupid ,as you say, but it should then be stupid for everyone? Your resort association says no and they have all the clout to clobber anyone in their path. The gaming taverns were first in line.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:45:44 +0000

I have read some of these posts. Dr. Good says it like it is… and even has real statistics to back himself/herself up with.

I am a smoker, but am not proud of it any longer.

I started smoking when I was 16 because my friends made it look cool. And I thought it made me look cool, too.

When I smoke, I go outside so that my kids don’t inhale the smoke. I haven’t smoked in my car since my kids were born. (Also, because we bought a new car around the same time my first son was born and I wanted to keep it smoke-free… but the main reason was my kids’ health.)

Let’s face it: It is just not socially acceptable to smoke anymore. Not to mention what it is really doing to our health.

The majority of people are up on the fact that it can kill and are sick of us pushing our “rights” to smoke onto them and their right to breath.

I have to agree with the non-smoking population and just smoked my last cigarette about 1/2 hour ago.

I’m sick of what cigarettes have done to me and the control they have over me.

Not anymore! It’s mind over matter now.