County to seek tougher smoking laws

Adrienne Packer

Monday, June 3, 2002 | 11:08 a.m.

For the third straight time, Clark County leaders will head into the 2003 Legislature hoping to get the authority to adopt more stringent tobacco restrictions.

This time they might be armed with a new weapon: documented backing from Southern Nevada residents.

Clark County commissioners will vote Tuesday on whether to place an advisory questions on November's ballot asking voters if the state should adopt stricter smoking restrictions or if the Clark County Health District should be given the authority to enact its own rules.

In the years county officials have attempted to wrest control of smoking rules from the state, this is the first time they have sought the opinion of Southern Nevada residents through a ballot question.

"What the Health District wants to do is try to read the pulse of Southern Nevada, take their temperature to see how they feel about second-hand smoke," Helen Foley, a lobbyist for the district, said.

Commissioners will consider two advisory questions for the ballot.

The first asks whether the state should adopt a law banning smoking from places frequented by children, such as schools, grocery stores, restaurants and government buildings.

The second question asks whether local health districts should make decisions on where smoking should be prohibited.

If the Health District were given the authority to pass rules, it would likely ban smoking in schools, stores, restaurants and public buildings, but bars and casinos would probably be exempted, Foley said.

"I think at a commission level there is a sensitivity to our tourism industry and making sure laws aren't passed that negatively affect tourism," said Foley, who helped craft the questions. "If you want to go to a bar or casino, you're free to do what you want."

Whether restaurants inside casinos should be included in the law has been debated each year the county has tried to gain local control. Foley said that issue has yet to be resolved and will likely be discussed by lawmakers.

Harvey Whittemore, a lobbyist who represents the Nevada Resort Association, said the state should maintain control of regulating tobacco use and he will continue to emphasize that to legislators.

"The state ensures that visitors and citizens have a uniform experience throughout the state," said Whittemore, who also represents the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. "The people we explain our story to in Carson City understand the importance to having a statewide policy.

"I don't want to guess at what our reaction will be based on any particular result," he said.

Foley believes the public's support combined with results from a September survey about smoking conducted by the Gallup Organization might be enough to sway legislators, Foley said.

In the telephone poll of more than 1,000 Clark County adults, 90 percent of all respondents and 85 percent of smokers questioned said that smoking should be banned from school properties. Some 67 percent of those surveyed said smoking should be prohibited in restaurants; 40 percent of the smokers questioned said they would support such a measure.

About 79 percent, including 72 percent of smokers surveyed, believed smoking should be banned in convenience and grocery stores.