A possible lift of the Nevada smoking ban stirs up debate among local business owners and health policy officials as to where the economic burden will lie.

The Nevada Clean Indoor Act, which was passed by a majority of voters in November 2006, prohibits smoking in most public areas. Some business owners, like Vanilla Dawg of Bar USA on S. Virginia Street. in Reno, said they have seen business crumble since.

“I hear people complaining about it all the time,” Dawg said. “I know so many people who won’t go to certain bars because they can’t smoke there. It’s just killed them (bar owners).”

The ban explicitly prohibits smoking in restaurants and bars that serve food, in slot-machine sections of grocery and convenience stores and other public areas. Smoking, however, is still allowed on the gambling floor of casinos.

Now, after the introduction of Senate Bill 372 in the Nevada State Legislature, a possible lift of the smoking ban is on the table, which Dawg and similar small businesses owners support.

“I think it would help so much to bring business back into local bars,” Dawg said. “It’s been a dramatic hit.”

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