Editorial: Obey law, stop smoking

Sunday, March 4, 2007 | 7:31 a.m.

Tavern owners fought against a ballot measure that outlaws smoking in bars that serve food, and now that the measure is law, some of them are finding ways around it.

For instance, George Gatchis, owner of a tavern called Screwballs, said he has done everything the Southern Nevada Health District has asked, such as putting up no-smoking signs, but if customers want to smoke, they can smoke.

"We tell customers if a Health District inspector comes in, he will cite them," Gatchis said.

In other words, don't worry about disregarding the law because the chance of an inspector walking through the door is a long shot.

As reported last week by Ed Koch in the Las Vegas Sun, such conduct has become an easy way for tavern owners to avoid a fine while still letting customers smoke. If the customer is caught by an inspector, the customer can be fined. The way some tavern owners apparently see things, they have no obligation to tell anyone to stop smoking. If they post no-smoking signs, they think they've met their legal obligation. (Wonder what they would say if someone was screaming or fighting in their bar?)

That kind of thinking is an insult not only to the law but to the voters. The law is the law. Whether or not they think they have a statutory responsibility to tell people to stop smoking, tavern owners have a responsibility as citizens to obey the law fully, as do their customers.