Smoking is prohibited in, near, or next to any entrance or exit of a public building in Clark County, Nevada. This includes buildings that are owned or leased by the State. The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act has been put in place to reduce the exposure of Nevadans to second-hand smoke in the workplace. However, many people still work in casinos and other exempt locations and are exposed to second-hand smoke on a daily basis. These policies are designed to minimize the amount of tobacco smoke that enters a building through doors, windows, ventilation systems, or any other means.
This allows customers to enter businesses without being exposed to second-hand smoke. The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act protects children and adults from second-hand cigarette smoke and second-hand aerosol from e-vaping products in most enclosed public places and indoor workplaces. The level of damage caused by exposure depends on the total time spent in the environment and the amount of smoke in that airspace. Hookah is regulated in Clark County and an additional permit is added to the business license for restaurants or dinner clubs where food service is the main attraction and alcohol can be served, or for taverns where food service is not required. 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. Even if an establishment allows smoking or using 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.
Secondhand smoke, also called ambient tobacco smoke, is a combination of the smoke from the end that a cigarette burns and the smoke that smokers breathe out. Non-exempt companies 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. Exposure to second-hand smoke occurs when a tobacco product is smoked in an enclosed area or near another person. To obtain a hookah permit, which is free in Clark County, a business owner must schedule an appointment with the county clerk to have the additional service approved through a public safety inspection. Clark County commissioners and hookah industry professionals discussed current regulations for bars, hookah lounges and restaurants at a city hall held last August. A second city hall was held in mid-September to focus on possible considerations for the new hookah room license.
They also asked county officials to consider ensuring that landlords have more responsibility when it comes to securing facilities for hookah-based businesses.
