Clean Indoor Air

Close the loopholes in Nevada’s Clean Indoor Air Act to protect every employee and visitor of indoor workplaces and public spaces including minimum distance requirements from entry/exit spaces.

Establish comprehensive smoke-free laws that will significantly reduce health spending and save lives in Nevada.

A recent study shows projected effects of a comprehensive law would result in health care cost savings of $500 million annually associated with emergency and in-patient hospital visits linked to coronary, cerebrovascular and respiratory conditions.

All people deserve to breathe clean air

The Nevada Tobacco Control & Smoke-free Coalition believes that all residents and visitors should be protected from the dangers of secondhand smoke by strong, comprehensive laws that guarantee clean indoor air.

As the global COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the focus on respiratory health, Nevada must protect the health of all employees and guests by removing the exemptions that allow those who work in and visit locations like casinos, age-restricted bars, and adult entertainment venues to be exposed to the toxins of secondhand smoke. As the law stands now, nearly 40% of Nevada’s workforce is left out of the clean indoor air protections that most people now take for granted.

The evidence

In 2006, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report warning that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Since that release, there have been dozens of studies confirming and documenting the dangers of exposure, including a 2009 Institute of Medicine report that concluded smoke-free laws reduce heart attacks.

Additionally, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE), the leading experts on ventilation, issued a report in July 2020 re-stating that the “only means of effectively eliminating health risk associated with indoor exposure is to ban smoking activity. No other engineering approaches, including current and advanced dilution ventilation or air cleaning technologies, have been demonstrated or should be relied upon to control health risks from secondhand smoke exposure in spaces where smoking occurs. Because of ASHRAE’s mission to act for the benefit of the public, it encourages elimination of smoking in the indoor environment as the optimal way to minimize secondhand smoke exposure.”

CONTACT YOUR NEVADA SENATE LEGISLATOR

CONTACT YOUR NEVADA ASSEMBLY LEGISLATOR

Let them know you support removing exemptions to the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act.

There is no risk-free level of
exposure to secondhand smoke.

What is Secondhand Smoke?

Secondhand smoke, also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is a combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar, pipe, or other combustible tobacco product, as well as the smoke breathed out by smokers. In Nevada, it also is the aerosol from electronic vaping products, and the exhaled vapor breathed out by someone using a vaping device.

Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, and at least 70 of them are known to cause cancer.

Exposure to secondhand smoke occurs any time an individual smokes any tobacco product around another individual. This commonly occurs indoors, particularly in public places where smoking and vaping is allowed, and in homes and cars. Secondhand smoke can move through public spaces where smoking is allowed and through ventilation systems in businesses and through rooms of a home and between apartment units. Ventilation systems or opening a window in a business, home, or car is not protective from secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in this country, killing 5,300 nonsmokers in the U.S. each year. For every eight smokers the tobacco industry kills, it takes one nonsmoker with them.
20-30%

Increased risk
for developing lung cancer, heart disease,
and stroke in non-smoking adults from
regular exposure to secondhand smoke
In fact, an estimated 41,000 deaths from lung cancer and heart disease occur each year among nonsmoking adults. Since the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report that identified smoking as a major health threat, secondhand smoke exposure has resulted in 2.5 million deaths of nonsmokers in the U.S.
Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can interfere with the normal functioning of the heart, blood, and vascular systems. Breathing secondhand smoke can have immediate negative effects on a person’s blood and blood vessels, increasing the risk of having a heart attack. People who already have heart disease are at especially high risk of suffering negative effects from breathing secondhand smoke and should take special precautions to avoid even brief exposures.
People with chronic health conditions are more likely than healthy people to suffer when exposed to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke can aggravate allergies, symptoms of asthma, and cause other respiratory and lung conditions in nonsmokers.

Secondhand smoke exposure is especially dangerous to children because their lungs and bodies are still developing. About 4 out of 10 U.S. children aged 3–11 years (40.6%) are exposed to secondhand smoke.
Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, more severe asthma, respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth.
Children and babies who are exposed to secondhand smoke are sick more often with illness such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and ear infections.
Studies show that older children whose parents smoke, get sick more often. When exposed to secondhand smoke, wheezing and coughing are more common and the risk of lower respiratory tract infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia, is increased. Children whose parents smoke around them get more ear infections, have fluid in their ears more often, and have more operations to put in ear tubes for drainage.
Secondhand smoke exposure, even brief, can trigger an asthma attack in a child, and those who are around secondhand smoke have more severe and frequent asthma attacks. A severe asthma attack can put a child’s life in danger. More than 40 percent of children who go to the emergency room for asthma live with smokers.
Babies exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and pregnant women regularly exposed are more likely to give birth to low birth weight babies. In fact, secondhand smoke exposure in pregnant women can be as damaging to the fetus as if the mother were inhaling the smoke directly from a cigarette.

Secondhand Smoke in Indoor Environments

For any environment, the harm from secondhand smoke depends on time spent in the environment and the amount of smoke in that air space. Smoke-filled rooms can have up to six times the air pollution of a busy highway. Most people spend 90% of their time in two types of environments – home and work. Smoke-free workplace laws and voluntary smoke-free home pledges help to reduce the health risks of secondhand smoke.

The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act (NCIAA) protects adults and children from secondhand smoke and secondhand vape exposure in most public places and indoor places of employment, such as restaurants, movie theaters, and schools. Unfortunately, there are still many people working in casinos, bars, and other locations who are not protected by the NCIAA and who are exposed daily to secondhand smoke.

In Nevada and across the U.S., most people – more than 84% – do not smoke and prefer a smoke-free environment. Across the nation, smoke-free hospitality venues are thriving. Even the President of the American Gaming Association agrees that smoke free gaming “hasn’t led to a decrease in business.”
In the United States, 22 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have laws in effect that require state-regulated casinos to be smoke-free. And more than 1,150 cities and counties require non-hospitality workplaces, including restaurants and bars, to be 100% smoke-free.

Tips for keeping your personal spaces smoke-free

Protect your children and your family by making your home and car smoke-free. Don’t smoke inside, even when children are not present. Studies reveal that even if there is not active smoking while children are present, smoke can linger in an enclosed area (like a house or car) for up to seven days after a person has smoked.
Smoking in any room, like a bathroom or bedroom, pollutes all the air in your home. In an apartment or condominium, smoking in one room can cause smoke to travel through the whole building. Smoking outdoors near windows and doors is also troublesome, since smoke can travel under doors, in windows, and through cracks.
Prohibit others from smoking in your home or car as well. Make sure your children’s day care centers and schools are tobacco-free. Avoid places that still allow smoking indoors.

Sources: CDC, EPA

Most Nevadans have already
said yes to clean indoor air

The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act (NCIAA) was passed by a majority of Nevada voters and took effect on December 8, 2006.

The passage of the Act provided for major changes to Nevada’s smoking laws to protect adults and children from secondhand smoke in most indoor public places and indoor places of employment. It also allows local (city/county/town) governments in Nevada to enact smoking laws within their jurisdictions even stronger than the state law.

Nevada’s legislature has updated the NCIAA several times.

In 2009, lawmakers weakened the law by allowing smoking in areas of convention centers during tobacco-related trade shows, under certain conditions.
In the 2011 session, the law was further weakened by permitting stand-alone bars, taverns, and saloons in which minors under 21 years of age are prohibited from entering, to allow smoking.
During the 2019 legislative session, the law was updated and strengthened to include vapor products or e-cigarettes in the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act.

What’s in the law?

Under the NCIAA, smoking and vaping is prohibited in most indoor public places and 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 (including gaming areas).
All indoor areas within restaurants, including those in casinos or gaming establishments.
Bars, taverns, and saloons that allow minors under the age of 21 to enter.
Shopping malls and retail stores.
Video arcades.
Government buildings and public places.
Movie theaters.

Exemptions in the NCIAA allow smoking in the following places:

Gaming areas of casinos where loitering by minors is restricted by law.
Completely enclosed areas with stand-alone bars, taverns, and saloons in which patrons under 21 years of age are prohibited from entering.
Strip clubs or brothels.
Retail tobacco stores.
Areas of convention facilities during tobacco-related trade shows that are closed to the public.
Private residences, including those used as an office workplace except if it is used as a child care or health care facility.

The NCIAA does not apply to gaming areas of casinos, but does apply in all other areas. Smoking is still allowed on the gaming floor of casinos, where, by law, children are prevented from loitering. However, some casinos offer separate gaming rooms or areas as non-smoking, such as smoke-free poker rooms.

Smoking is not allowed in other areas of casino facilities, including restaurants, bars that allow minors, convention facilities (except those used for tobacco-related trade shows, that meet certain conditions), hallways, bathrooms, elevators, employee break rooms, movie theaters and video arcades.

Read more about Nevada’s smoking and tobacco laws. Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 202.2483

Report a violation of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act.
Clark County or (702) 759-1990
Washoe County or (775) 328-2434

We can make more of Nevada smoke-free.

The passage of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act (NCIAA) did more than increase the number of places that are smoke-free. It also removed what’s called “preemption” from the state law. That means that cities, counties, and town governments can pass local laws about smoking that are stronger than the state law. Advocates in multiple cities in Nevada are working to do just that.

The exemptions in the NCIAA leave thousands of employees and patrons in nightclubs, casinos, and some bars still breathing the toxins and cancer-causing chemicals in secondhand smoke. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke and ventilation systems do not address the health hazards of secondhand smoke.

Smoke-Free Truckee Meadows

Smoke-Free Truckee Meadows is an effort to ensure smoke-free air for all indoor workplaces in Reno, Sparks and Washoe County. Renown Health and the Washoe County Health District provided funding to support the initiative, and nearly two dozen local, state and national partners and businesses have signed on in support.

Sign a petition in support of the effort here.

SIGN PETITION

Smoke-Free Schools & Colleges/Universities

Under state law, smoking is prohibited within all K-12 school districts and college and university buildings, though each entity treats outdoor areas differently.

For the largest school districts in the state:

Clark County School District added e-cigarettes to its existing tobacco-free campus policy, which prohibits smoking on any grounds used by the school district for any school-sanctioned events, including athletic fields. This ban extends to 357 campus buildings and athletic fields.
Washoe County School District also expanded their tobacco policy to include e-cigarettes, which prohibits the use of all tobacco products and e-cigarettes at any time on district property, even during non-school hours.

Across the country, there are more than 2,000 colleges and universities that have prohibited the use of tobacco on their campuses.

University of Nevada, Reno implemented a 100% tobacco-free campus policy August 1, 2015. The use of all tobacco, including e-cigarettes, is prohibited in all campus buildings and on all campus grounds, including on athletic fields and in stadiums.
University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2022 passed a gold standard smoke-free and vape-free policy, including prohibiting the use of tobacco, marijuana, and vape products on any UNLV campus and campus grounds; prohibiting the sales or marketing of any tobacco or marijuana products by UNLV or any entity operating on campus; and prohibiting all tobacco and marijuana-related advertising and sponsorship on campus, at UNLV-sponsored events, and in publications produced by UNLV.

Smoke-Free Housing

In Nevada, apartments and condominiums qualify as personal residences and are exempt from smoking restrictions under the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act (NCIAA).

Secondhand smoke seeping into apartments or condominiums from neighboring units is a common problem. Shared ventilation between housing units and inadequate door and window insulation adds to secondhand smoke spreading from unit to unit. Because people spend more time in their homes than in any other location, reducing exposure to tobacco smoke in multi-unit residences can significantly improve residents’ health.

In addition to the health benefits to employees and tenants, limiting smoking can also significantly decrease maintenance and turnover costs for landlords and property managers.

The Nevada Tobacco Control & Smoke-free Coalition encourages apartment and condominium owners and managers to designate entire buildings as smoke-free and to make all common areas smoke-free.

Find smoke-free apartment housing options in Clark County with Southern Nevada Health District’s Smoke-Free Housing Directory.

Learn more about smoke-free housing in Nevada, including how to advocate and implement smoke-free housing policies, check out the Nevada Statewide Coalition Partnership’s Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Tool Box.

Additionally, these Smoke-Free Housing Toolkits are provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Lung Association, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They are a compilation of existing educational, “how-to” and resource brochures, pamphlets and other information designed to assist owners/management agents and residents of public and assisted multi-family housing who want safer and healthier homes.

Smoke-Free Housing Toolkit for Public Housing Authorities and Owners/Management Agents

Smoke-Free Housing Toolkit for Residents