Nevada Attorney General George Chanos
CARSON CITY -- Supporters of Nevada's new anti-smoking law have found a surprising new ally in the lobbying arm of the state's most powerful casino companies, according to a recent report in the Las Vegas-based Casino City Times. The Nevada Resort Association filed court papers this week opposing a lawsuit against Nevada Attorney General George Chanos seeking to kill the law. The original suit was brought by a group of Nevada bar and tavern owners against the Chanos-sponsored Nevada Indoor Clean Air Act, which was intended to come into force Dec 8. The suit argued that the law was "impermissibly vague" and that it unfairly targeted certain businesses while exempting others, a violation of the equal protection clauses in state and federal constitutions. Supporters of Chanos's anti-smoking law like the American Cancer Society's Buffy Martin-Tarbox declared themselves "perplexed and shocked" by the decision. The NRA had supported a less-restrictive anti-smoking law for Nevada than the one Chanos proposed at the November ballot.