On this page:
Who enforces the smoking laws in Nevada?
The State of Nevada has laws against tobacco use to protect human health and safety.
The State, District or County Boards of Health and local law enforcement authorities are responsible for enforcing laws regarding public smoking in areas or buildings where it is limited. For more information visit the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act section of the Southern Nevada Health District's website.
Law enforcement agencies enforce laws regarding access by minors to tobacco products.
The State Attorney General or contracted agencies enforce laws regarding inspections of tobacco retailers for compliance with ban on access of minors to tobacco products.
Can Clark County, the City of Las Vegas or the Health District ban smoking in public places?
With the passage of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act on November 7, 2006, the Nevada state law was strengthened to ban smoking in most public places. The passage of the Act also allows local (city/ county/town) governments in Nevada to enact and approve tobacco ordinances or regulations in their jurisdictions even stricter than the new state law. These new laws went into effect on December 8, 2006, ten days after their approval by the Nevada Supreme Court.
With the passage of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, where is smoking now banned in Nevada?
Nevada law now limits smoking tobacco within most indoor places of employment including, but not limited to, the following:
- Public and private school buildings and on public and private school grounds
- Child care facilities with five or more children
- All areas of grocery stores, convenience stores and drug stores
- All indoor areas within restaurants, including those in casinos or gaming establishments
- Bars, taverns and saloons that serve food
- Shopping malls and retail establishments
- Video arcades
- Government buildings and public places
- Movie theaters
How does the law allow for smoking in the above mentioned areas?
The person in control of any of the above facilities must post signs banning smoking in their establishment and remove all smoking paraphernalia (i.e. ashtrays).
For more information visit the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act section of the Southern Nevada Health District's website.
What does the law say about the slot machine areas of grocery and convenience stores?
Nevada law now bans smoking in all areas of grocery and convenience stores, including the gaming areas in these businesses.
What does the law say about casinos and smoking?
The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act does not apply to gaming areas of casinos. Smoking is still allowed in casino gaming establishments, unless the operator of such facilities assigns separate rooms or areas within the establishment as nonsmoking. For example, many casinos now voluntarily offer smoke-free poker rooms.
What about restaurants and bars?
With the passage of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, all indoor areas of restaurants must be smoke-free by December 8, 2006. Smoking is still allowed in outdoor areas of restaurants.
Restaurants that are contained within gaming establishments or casinos are also required to ban smoking.
Bars that serve food, or have a kitchen and hold a food handling license, will also be required to be smoke-free by December 8, 2006. Bars that serve prepackaged food, like peanuts and pretzels, and don’t hold a food handling license, can still allow smoking on their premises.
For more information visit the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act section of the Southern Nevada Health District's website.
Where is smoking still allowed after December 8, 2006?
Following the passage of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, smoking is allowed in the following places:
- Gaming areas of casinos;
- Stand-alone bars, taverns and saloons (bars that don’t serve food);
- Strip clubs or brothels;
- Retail tobacco stores; and
- Private residences, including those used as an office workplace except if it is used as a childcare or health care facility.
What are the laws concerning minors and tobacco?
Nevada law makes it unlawful for any person to sell, distribute or offer to sell cigarettes, cigarette paper and tobacco of any description or products made from tobacco to any child under age of 18 years.
A separate Nevada law limits cigarette vending machines to areas where minors are not allowed and does not allow vending machines to mix tobacco products with any non-tobacco products.
Who enforces these laws regarding the sale of tobacco products to minors?
The Attorney General's office enforces these laws. They are authorized to conduct inspections (stings) of local tobacco retail stores for sales to minors.
A federal law, known as the Synar Amendment, requires the state to take reasonable steps to enforce its own law that prohibits the sale of tobacco products to minors.
The Attorney General’s office funds their inspection program using money from the tobacco settlement.
For more information on the smoking and tobacco laws in Nevada, please refer to Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 202.2485 - 202.2497.
|
