Question of the Day - 20 June 2007

Back on June 13, we ran a QoD about enforcement of the new smoking ban in Las Vegas. It's obviously a topic that many of you feel strongly about, on both sides of the fence, and we received a great deal of interesting feedback, some serious, some amusing, which we'd like to share with you. And then let's put this whole smoking thing to bed (so to speak -- we know smoking in bed is dangerous). Enough already!

• Cute article about the smoking law... However: Building codes, truth-in-lending, prescription drug control, anti-trust laws (that allow two companies to own all the casinos in Tahoe and call it fair), copyright laws (that protect Huntington Press), occupational saftey codes...and the law that quite effectively keeps our California Bars and Restaurants smoke free, are all enforced by guys without guns. And hopefully government is something more than the sanctioned use of force.
• In response to the 6/13 QoD clarifying your earlier remarks about the smoking ban, I just have to say well put, well done, well stated, and well...just, good for you! Keep in mind two things as you bask in the praise I'm lavishing on you. Firstly, I lived in Northern California when the smoking ban (in all bars) was passed and I was working as a bartender at the time! The first year, enforcement was a joke, but sure enough January 2nd of year two saw more citations written than the previous twelve months combined. So don't despair just yet that the law will never be enforced (as I get the impression it's a law you'd all like to see enforced more strictly).

  Secondly, I AM A SMOKER! But even I realize that it is a filthy habit and I try to be as considerate about it as possible. Las Vegas is certainly a haven for smokers but that dosen't mean we can run amok. That's why there are ashtrays in elevator alcoves, around check-in desks, and other areas where, even though they're within spitting distance of the casino floor, it's simply inappropriate to be puffing away. Las Vegas belongs to the residents; the gamblers make a great deal of it possible, but we're still just guests. As a guest, I'm happy to play by the rules, and if the rules say I can't smoke in a restaurant or bar that serves food, then so be it. I've always found it tough to chew while lighting up anyway.

• A comment about smoking enforcement: Here in Phoenix, they are using the Health Inspectors to do thorough inspections of bars that let people smoke. They manage to find enough health violations to threaten to close places down.
• I, myself, am not a smoker. Your pointing to the lack of armed authorities to enforce the no-smoking ban, and the lack of response by the police, indicates to me what the authorities think of this whole public smoking issue, and that is that the whole thing is just plain trivial. Apparently, it's thought to be neither appropriate nor important enough to use a sledge hammer to kill a fly, so why bother at all to legislate against it? Personally, I don't believe all this second-hand smoke stuff anyway. We are just a wimpy, cry baby society that has to blame others for every evil that befalls us. Our country was not founded, explored, and settled by those who demanded a sterile world before they would set foot out into it. Stop demanding that the world be carpeted just because you want to go barefoot.
• In reference to the "smoking gun" questions, why can't all of the casinos provide sections that are non-smoking? We have had this on the Gulf Coast (pre-Katrina), where entire floors were dedicated to non-smoking. As smokers, we stay off their floor, and when they complain about our smoking, they can be directed to the smoke-free areas. Why is this not a good solution? There is nothing worse than having a fanning, complaining non-smoker next to you. Especially if you were there first smoking and they sit down and start to whine. All of the smokers that I know in the casino try not to sit next to non-smokers ou