Letter: Blame bars for smoke where it shouldn’t be

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007 | 6:45 a.m.

In response to Terry E Peele's Oct. 8 letter, "Don't blame bars for toothless smoke ban," about the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act being poorly written and akin to Swiss cheese: It is the businesses affected that have mangled the letter and intent of the act.

First, they made specious jurisdictional and constitutional claims. When that didn't work, they parsed and tortured common words such as "indoor," "food" and "served." Some establishments have even erected, at great cost, glass barriers around their video poker bar, separating the dining area but sealing the huffers and puffers in that noxious cloud of their own making. This is my favorite reaction to the law, but I do feel sorry for the staff who have to breathe it in for eight hours.

Because smokers are so easily confused, perhaps they would understand a total prohibition on the consumption of all tobacco products anywhere and at anytime. That will be their fate if they keep ignoring sensible restrictions on smoking in public places.

Dale Quale, Las Vegas