Letter: Nonsmokers afraid to let free market work

Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007 | 12:59 p.m.

Good for Esther Mondini's Aug. 25 letter, "Nonsmoking casino failed for a reason."

She's right. I was living here when the Silver City casino went totally nonsmoking. All of the nonsmokers had an entire casino to go to, but guess what? They didn't support it at all.

All of the nonsmokers felt they were missing out on something that was happening at the casinos that offered the same gaming and dining with the added courtesy of smoking. That is the real reason why these nonsmoking groups want to ban smoking entirely in all establishments. They are literally afraid to let the free market work.

They are afraid that if one restaurant, casino or bar and grill offers food, drink, gaming and smoking, it will do more business than the one down the street that doesn't offer smoking. That was proven with the Silver City casino.

So rather than let everyone choose where to socialize, eat, drink and gamble, these nanny butt-ins push their cause under the guise that they want to look out for all of us. Hey! A news flash, I can look out for myself. These same groups clearly know that there is room for everyone to exist, but they choose to ignore it.

We smokers just want the same rights as the nonsmokers and that is places to dine, drink, gamble and smoke. There are plenty of restaurants, bars and casinos in this state and country to accommodate both. Nonsmokers to nonsmoking places and smokers to smoking places and neither of us have to be within sitting distance of each other.

Why are you non smokers afraid of free market and competition? It's clear that you're afraid that a restaurant, grill or tavern offering the customer smoking will do more business than the place that is totally nonsmoking. That's sad because every ban or prohibition is another freedom being taken away.

Brad Evans, Las Vegas