Thank god! I'm tired of smelling Marlboros as I am trying to eat my $150 Surf & Turf Fillet! Just passed the new law...
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Nov-08-Wed-2006/news/10687893.htmlQUESTIONS 4 & 5: Voters blow through smoke
More restrictive of two initiatives passes, paving way for smoke-free restaurants, bars
By ANNETTE WELLS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
In a state known for its anything goes atmosphere, Nevada voters approved the more restrictive of two smoking initiatives Tuesday, rejecting the business-backed Question 4 and paving the way for Nevada's restaurants and bars to go smoke-free starting sometime after Nov. 28.
"I would hope that Nevada would take this as a cue to improve its health and the quality of health that it provides,'' said Michael Hackett, a spokesman for Nevadans for Tobacco Free Kids, which sponsored Question 5. "We've always been at the bottom of the list in terms of the quality of health care and social services provided here. It is our hope that Question 5's passage would become some sort of impetus for people to take charge of their health.''
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With the majority of precincts reporting, 54 percent of Nevada voters favored Question 5, with 46 percent opposed.
Forty-eight percent favored Question 4 with 52 percent against it. Even if Question 4 were to get a majority, it was still substantially trailing Question 5 in total votes. If both questions were to pass, the one with the most votes would become law.
Numerous attempts to reach Question 4 backers Tuesday night were unsuccessful.
Question 4 got a majority of the vote in Clark County, but the statewide numbers were sending it to defeat.
Hackett said Nevada joins nearly a dozen other states with smoking bans in bars and restaurants.
Question 5, also known as the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, also bans smoking in grocery and convenience stores, shopping malls and other retail establishments. It allows local governments to impose stricter anti-tobacco laws than the state.
"Ours would be consistent with other state laws,'' Hackett said. "It wouldn't be any stricter than any of the other states.''
However, backers of Question 4 have maintained totally eliminating smoking in restaurants and bars in Nevada would hurt its tourism-based economy. They argued that Nevada draws visitors because the state allows them "certain freedoms.''
Question 4, dubbed the Responsibility to Protect Nevadans from Second-Hand Smoke Act, would have, for the most part, maintained the status quo. And, in some areas, Question 4 would have weakened existing law.
For example, it would have required at least 13 children to be in in-home day care centers before the smoking ban would take effect. Current law requires only five.
Both initiatives called for banning smoking on school grounds and in arcades and day care centers even though those areas are already covered under state law.
During weeks leading up to Election Day, Question 5's campaign appeared to be outmatched by Question 4, whose backers saturated television and radio airwaves with ads touting itself as the measure that would protect children and families from second-hand smoke.
Backers of Question 5 said this tactic only confused voters and that their themes were being appropriated.
Lee Haney, a spokeswoman for the Smoke Free Coalition, disagreed with Hackett at the time and said the coalition's ads were not deceptive and did not confuse people.
But some Las Vegas voters seemed a little confused Tuesday about the two initiatives.
One woman who voted at the West Las Vegas Library said she voted "yes" on both measures because she was against smoking and wanted to protect children. She declined to give her name.
Another voter, Dosca Wash, said she couldn't vote for Question 5 "because we'd lose a lot of money. The industry -- bars and taverns -- they need that money. People shouldn't have their children in bars. That's for grown-ups to hang out.''
Real estate agent Matt Dercole, 44, voted yes on Question 4 and no on Question 5. He said restricting smoking would hurt the state's gaming business.
"There are lots of Californians here, and they want this to be like California," the Republican nonsmoker said after voting at Roberts Elementary School in Henderson.
Review-Journal staff writer Brian Haynes contributed to the report.
