Las Vegas Smoking Ban

[timetraveler]

Can anyone tell me if the smoking ban went into effect last Friday, and if so, does it include all casino floors as well? I'm terribly allergic to the smoke, and we are planning a short 4 day trip in February.

In the past, I was constantly moving to different spots on the floor, to try to put some distance between my nose and throat and plumes of smoke.

If any of the resorts have gone totally smoke free, they certainly would get my business.

 

[Dave M]

Question 5, which was approved by voters in November and became effective last Friday banned smoking in most public places. However, exempted from the ban are casino floors and stand-alone slot bars that don't serve food.

 

[Fern Modena]

Vickie,
You should cancel your vacation plans. You won't be happy (or healthy) in Las Vegas with your allergies.

The "smoking ban," Question 5, the Clean Indoor Air Act, does not do what you think it does. And therein lies the problem. Nothing in the act prohibits smoking on the gaming floor of casinos. Restaurants in casinos are no smoking, but to get through them you must go through the gaming floors.

The effective date of the act was suppose to be last Friday, December 8th. That did not happen. A judge has has issued a temporary restraining order which postpones the effective date of the law until after a hearing on December 19th. You can read about it here. This only applies to Clark County.

Why is this happening? Well, in Clark County we have something called "Tavern Licenses." Bar/Restaurants with up to a dozen slot machines operate under a tavern license. More than 20 machines and its a casino. There are a few taverns which have been granfathered in with special licenses and have as many as 25 machines. The 12-machine taverns, all of which are neighborhood places, are prohibited from allowing smokers under the new law, unless they cease serving food. Most all of them now serve food, at reasonable prices, in a non-smoking room away from the machines. BUT, under the new law the two rooms would have to have a solid wall between them, with no doors. There would have to be bathrooms added on the non-smoking side as well. Otherwise the whole establishment would have to either ban smoking or kill the restaurant. I don't smoke, but I often go to a tavern to eat. They are reasonably priced and have good food.

So what's the big deal? Well, it pits the big guys (the casinos and the resorts) against the little guys (the taverns and pubs) and doesn't treat them the same.

Fern

 

[johnmfaeth]

Ironically, NJ has banned all indoor smoking, even at outdoor stadiums!

However, you can light up ONLY in casinos.

I guess when it comes to lobbying, money talks.....

 

[timetraveler]

Thanks Dave and Fern. We go to Vegas 2-3 times each year. I have learned to "pack it in" if the smoke get's too bad, and head for a show instead or a nice restaurant.

We are not big gambler's. But enjoy the excitement of the tables, and I confess.....I do love a couple of the slot machine titles. :ignore:

So, I'll just continue to handle the smoke as I have in the past. I normally walk around with puffy red eyes, stopped up nose and a hoarse throat, but the place is just so much fun, I just find a way to deal with it.

Thanks again for the link and great info Fern!!

 

[bigfrank]

I will be there in January and my Luggage will have a few boxes of Cigars in them.

Hey Doug can you get a cigar smoking Smile for me?

 

[anne1125]

Someday the casinos are going to realize that non-smokers are the majority.

 

[roadtriper]

Westin?

Can anyone tell me if the smoking ban went into effect last Friday, and if so, does it include all casino floors as well? I'm terribly allergic to the smoke, and we are planning a short 4 day trip in February.

In the past, I was constantly moving to different spots on the floor, to try to put some distance between my nose and throat and plumes of smoke.

If any of the resorts have gone totally smoke free, they certainly would get my business.

FWIW, I believe I read where the Westin Cassarina Hotel/casino (the old Maxim) went totaly smoke free. Personaly I don't think much of the casino. I found the slots to be unfriendly to say the least. but that's just my experience.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Someday the casinos are going to realize that non-smokers are the majority.

Amen to that...

 

[mepiccolo]

I double that amen. I know that Vegas is "smokers paradise" but it's true if you really look around less than 30-40% of the people are actually smoking and stinking up the place and placing other's people's health in jeopardy with their gross bad habit. Smoking should be delegated to outdoors only or to smoking only areas of casino's that are glassed in (like airports) so they can kill themselves off if they want to but not hurt the rest of our lungs. Not to mention the poor people who have to work in casinos and breath that air day in and day out-can you imagine!

 

[dbc]

Smoking Ban Injunction

I just read in Vegas4Visitors that a judge has delayed the smoking ban until a hearing can be held later this month to decide on its constitutionality. Even if implemented, as pointed out by others it will not impact most of the big casinos, at least in the gambling areas.

 

[johnmfaeth]

What the really need to do is also ban alcohol from casinos. They want to get people drunk so that they gamble with money they can't afford because their judgement is impaired.

Plus, who wants some drunk at your table disrupting the game.

 

[mepiccolo]

I don't drink alcohol so I wouldn't care but honestly a ban on alcohol in Vegas is like banning children over 10 from Disneyland. It's not going to happen. And I've never once been bothered by a drunk in Vegas whereas putting up with the smoke in the casinos is the biggest complaint I know of from people who go to Vegas. I think there are a lot more smokers on the east coast than out here in California. Smokers are practically non-existent here (yeah!)...well at least cigarettes anyway :ignore:

 

[short]

Casinos will listen when tourist go away.

The Las Vegas casinos will not want to give up smoking until the nonsmokers revolt. Basicly money talks and if money walks to other locations they will listen.

My DH and I were at the LV Flamingo for a conference right after Thanksgiving. As Californians we are spoiled with having had stringent nonsmoking laws for quite a few years. The conference room was nonsmoking but walking down the hall to the bathroom past 4 or 5 folks huddled around an ashtray in the hall was noticable.

The casinos were not to bad unless you got a smoker sitting next to you. I was there at lunch time so it was not very crowded. It probobly was very crowded in the evening and near the weekend.

I did my 10 min. 10 dollar slot and I was out of there back to the conf room. We did not go gambling at night as we normally would.

Next year I will not be returning to LV for the conference. I will find other places, probobly back to Palm Springs where we were going and they have better smoking laws. We might try the Indian casinos. I don't know if they have the same nonsmoking rules as the rest of California.

Short

 

[Fern Modena]

Spoken like a true Californian. If you feel so strongly about this, then don't go there. You don't have to, you know. You have (Indian) casinos in California. They don't allow smoking in them, do they?

You realize that Question 5 doesn't affect the Casinos, right?

Fern

I double that amen. I know that Vegas is "smokers paradise" but it's true if you really look around less than 30-40% of the people are actually smoking and stinking up the place and placing other's people's health in jeopardy with their gross bad habit. Smoking should be delegated to outdoors only or to smoking only areas of casino's that are glassed in (like airports) so they can kill themselves off if they want to but not hurt the rest of our lungs. Not to mention the poor people who have to work in casinos and breath that air day in and day out-can you imagine!

 

[DavidnRobin]

Unfortunately, smoking is allowed in Indian Casinos in CA. I happen to like LV, and I also happen hate cigarette smoke. Actually, 'hate' is not strong enough...

I never understood the whole 'smokers rights' thing - the only good thing about cigarettes is that they keep Social Security from going bankrupt sooner. NOTHING ELSE... They are proven to be more addictive than heroin, more harmful than many enviromental exposures that are illegal (e.g. lead), and people around cigarette smoke are forced to breath it - because of why??? The tabacco lobby - addiction - and by people who don't give a crap about themselves, other people, or the enviroment... (look on the street, beach - anywhere and everywhere - there are butts all over the place).

I happen to work in the field of lung cancer - and have had two uncles die recently from lung cancer - both of them smoked for many years and then stopped for many years. It turns out if you smoke for many years - your chances of dying from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC - the most commeon form of LC) are almost the same as if you never quit in the first place. When a patient presents with NSCLC - they are usually Stage IV and have a median life expectancy of about 6-8 months. It is a terrible death - essentially suffocating to death. Over 90% of NSCLC is caused by first-hand and second-hand smoke.

Low and behold - turns out that second-hand smoke is also extremely dangerous to the health of those exposed - many because they are forced to - due to work place exposure - or even more CRIMINAL - parents exposing their children (who they are suppose to protect) to second-hand smoke.

Smoking is the biggest waste of time and health - no other substance is given the so-called right to expose it onto others - the ONLY reason for his discourse is 1) addiction and 2) money for cigarette makers.

CA bars and restuarants claimed they would be hurt financially if indoor smoking was banned - yet 7 years late - no effect. In fact - I can now go into places that I wouldn't go into before. AND guess what? Millions of others feel the same way. It will change - and is changing... thankfully, but to slowly for me.

Out.

 

[Rose Pink]

If you want to stay in a smoke-free environment in LV, you could try the Embassy Suites. We stayed there. No smoking and no incessant boop-boop noise from video games. Of course, that means there is no gambling in this hotel. You'd have to go elsewhere to do that. It was a nice respite from what we encountered on the strip.

 

[mepiccolo]

I like going to Vegas and the Indian casinos are just not the same thing as a Vegas casino (I've never known anyone to win any significant amount of money in an Indian casino). I remember when I moved from California to New Jersey for a couple of years and I was so grossed out by the smoking in the restaurants. Even the non-smoking sections were right next to the bar area so you really couldn't get away from it. And going to bars, forget about it! Your clothes and hair just stunk even if you were only in there an hour. I don't think smokers realize how repugnant the smell of smoke is to non-smokers. I would rather sit next to someone who farted at a casino than next to a smoker. I too just lost a really dear friend to lung cancer (he died within 3 months of being diagnosed and he had not smoked in over 20 years!) So what I don't get is this, and this is also spoken like a true Californian, why are cigarettes legal but marijuana is not? (By the way I do not smoke it, I am allergic to it, but I think at least it smells good.) No one has ever, ever died from marijuana (unless, of course, it's marijuana and something else, like liquor and then driving under the influence). In 2000 coming from California to New Jersey I was amazed at all the neighborhood bars, I swear it seemed like there was one on every corner, and all the smokers (probably 90% more than California) and everyone over there had such an attitude about pot. If someone got caught with a roach it made it to the newspaper! Here in California more than likely a cop would just make you toss it. It was so wierd. By comparison the people I do know who smoke pot in California are very healthy and athletic. I actually believe it is the cigarette companies who lobby to keep smoking marijuana a crime. I believe in my lifetime the value of hemp and medicinal marijuana will come out of the dark ages. I am just glad that here in California most people are aware of how unhealthy and disgusting it is to smoke cigarettes.

 

[chellej]

I just booked a week in vegas for a co-worker who does smoke and was tickled to get the Marriott Grand Chateau and before booking thought to call and ask about smoking rooms. As of Jan 1 it will be a non-smoking resort. The Cancun is also non-smoking but provides ashtrays on the balconys for smokers.

I ended up booking her at Polo towers - they still offer smoking rooms.

Soooo - smokers you should call to verify if it is an issue for you.

 

[DavidnRobin]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061213/sfw085.html?.v=83

"This year in the United States, the American Cancer Society estimates that lung cancer will kill more people than breast, prostate, colon, liver and kidney cancers combined, making it the leading cause of cancer death among Americans. Because most lung cancers are diagnosed during a late stage of the disease, only approximately 15 percent of patients live five years."

"Median survival of patients... 10.3 months for patients treated with chemotherapy alone. One-year survival... 44 percent for patients who received chemotherapy alone.

"Median progression-free survival... 4.5 months for patients who received chemotherapy alone."

This is pretty much a preventable cancer since lung cancer is generally caused by smoking (including 2nd hand...).

Yep - keep on smoking.

 

[Fern Modena]

I think this started as a question about Nevada's "Question 5," The Clean Air Act, and if it applied to casinos. Somewhere along the way it got hijacked and morphed into a health and morals lecture...

The answer is No, it doesn't apply to casinos. They are exempt from many things in this town...they have many "water features," while we conserve water. We recycle our containers, while (mostly) they don't. And they are exempt from Question 5, except for their restaurants.

Fern

 

[johnmfaeth]

Hi Blujahz,

Good stats on smoking but drinking is a much bigger overall problem in America. What are those health stats and please add to it the social and family impacts those millions of alcholics inflict in others. How many drunks come home from the casinos and take it our on their wives or children?

John

 

[timetraveler]

I did get my question answered from my OP. Thanks Fern.

I also knew that the Westin chain had gone non smoking. I love that. We stay at those fairly often.

In the mean time, I'll just request a non-smoking room in our favorite Vegas resort, as we always have, and move when someone settles in beside me at the table or slot machine, wilst letting their ciggie smolder in an ashtray.

Being married to a physician, I'm well aware of the horrible disease process of lung cancer patients. Being allergic to smoke and the symptoms it brings on, pale in comparison. So I'm very careful about second-hand smoke.

But we do have so much fun in Vegas, that we'll continue to go, but use caution and limit exposure to second hand smoke.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Hi Blujahz,

Good stats on smoking but drinking is a much bigger overall problem in America. What are those health stats and please add to it the social and family impacts those millions of alcholics inflict in others. How many drunks come home from the casinos and take it our on their wives or children?

John

Fern - this is what I was reading about because I am interested in the outcome - and how the big money would get around it. I play poker in LV a few times a year - and while smoking has been banned in poker rooms - the smoke-filled casinos are obnoxious to be in. Luckily, CA poker rooms are smoke-free. I spoke up because this is what behind the basic question about smoking and the rights of non-smokers (over smokers).

John -
Alcoholism (which probably are >90% smokers... interestingly...) is no doubt a serious health and social issue and I wouldn't disagree - but I (we) was talking about 2nd hand smoke - and smoking in general - and the health effects (cancer).

There are over a BILLION of smokers in the world (heck - probably in Asia alone...). Those stats are for the US alone (where smoking is on the decline). This will be a future world-wide health epidemic (this is a fact) and was written in depth in the 2003 ASCO (Am Soc Clinical Oncology) Proceedings - along with more facts and stats about the affects of smoking that I won't bore you with.

We turn our heads when it comes to smoking and so-called smokers rights - and those innocent folks impacted by this. The smoke that comes off the end of a cigarette is not filtered and is toxic.

As said - Of every type of cancer (and there are many types of which I am sure everyone knows someone who has/had cancer) - Lung Cancer is the only one that is self-inflected and those within breathing distance are essentially forced to endure.

and yet... it seems generally acceptable...

Now back to TSs - one reason I bought Westin was because Westin went smoke free.

 

[Bruce W]

Atlantic city casinos

While NJ State legislators could not enact a strong bill, the local Atlantic City Council is trying to stop smoking in the casinos.

Bruce



http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2006/atlantic-city-casinos-face.html