Smoking Policies in Clark County, Nevada: Exemptions and Regulations

Clark County, Nevada, and its major cities, Las Vegas, Henderson, Laughlin and Boulder City, have decided to make prostitution illegal. However, business owners have the right to implement their own voluntary “no smoking” policies, specifying a certain distance from their establishment where smoking can be allowed. The only exceptions are vehicles based in the Goodsprings community, which is close to the buffer zone border. The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act safeguards children and adults from second-hand cigarette smoke and second-hand aerosol from e-vaping products in most enclosed public places and indoor workplaces.

Companies that are not exempt should keep electronic smoking or vaping paraphernalia, including items that are used as ash containers, in areas where smoking and using e-vaping products are prohibited and inform customers who smoke that smoking and the use of e-vaping products are not allowed. These policies reduce the amount of tobacco smoke that enters a building through doors, windows, ventilation systems, or any other means, and allow customers to enter your business without exposure to second-hand smoke. Even if an establishment allows you to smoke or use electronic products to vape in an area where smoking or vaping is prohibited, it is in violation of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act and may be subject to applicable penalties. For more information on smoking and tobacco laws in Nevada, see the Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 202.2483 and the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act.

What is Secondhand Smoke?

Secondhand smoke, also known as ambient tobacco smoke, is a combination of the smoke from the end that a cigarette burns and the smoke that smokers breathe out. A CDC study found that 99% of non-smokers had measurable amounts of cotinine (a chemical that the body metabolizes from nicotine) in their bodies. For any environment, the level of damage caused by exposure depends on the total time spent in the environment and the amount of smoke in that airspace. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 substances, many of which are known to cause cancer in humans according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Conclusion

The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act has reduced the exposure that many Nevadans are exposed to in the workplace, but there are still many people who work in casinos and other exempt locations and who suffer daily exposure to second-hand smoke. Exposure to second-hand smoke occurs when a tobacco product is smoked in an enclosed area or near another person. Even though there are exemptions to smoking policies in Clark County Nevada, it is important to be aware of all applicable laws and regulations.