Preserve the voters’ will

Friday, April 3, 2009 | 2:07 a.m.

A bill in the Nevada Senate that would amend a state law that bans smoking within many indoor places of employment should not proceed beyond a hearing that has been scheduled for today.

Senate Bill 372 would radically change the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, which was initiated and passed by voters in 2006.

The bill would undercut people’s current right to patronize publicly accessible buildings without having to contend with secondhand smoke. There are some exemptions to the law, such as gaming areas inside casinos.

One of the law’s more contentious provisions is a ban on smoking in bars that serve food. Some bar owners, fearing a loss of business, have been fighting the law since it was proposed, including through court challenges.

SB372, supported by bar owners, would allow smoking in bars that serve food as long as minors are kept out. It would allow businesses to have separately ventilated smoking rooms. It would also transfer the power to enforce the law from local health districts to state health officials.

Presumably, minors are discouraged from entering bars already. Minors or no minors, though, the law was passed to protect people, young or old, from secondhand smoke. Smoking rooms, even those separately ventilated, are no guarantee against smoke infiltrating the whole building.

Also, a transfer of enforcement to state agencies would be a ruse. State agencies are perennially understaffed and would not be able to effectively take on that responsibility.

The Southern Nevada Health District, on the other hand, has the authority and personnel to inspect buildings and issue civil citations to owners or patrons who are violating the law.

Secondhand smoke is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a cause of cancer in humans. It contains numerous toxic chemicals and can also lead to respiratory infections, asthma and heart disease.

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on SB372. For the sake of public health, not to mention the voters’ will, this bill should be stopped in its tracks.