How to Stay Smoke-Free on a Las Vegas Trip

Las Vegas is a test for any new ex-smoker. Smoke drifts across gaming floors, drinks keep coming, nobody sleeps, and everyone around you seems to be celebrating or commiserating with a cigarette in hand. It's absolutely possible to enjoy a trip and stay smoke-free; you just need a plan.

Know the rules before you go

Nevada's indoor smoking law bans smoking in restaurants, shops and most indoor public spaces, but it exempts casino gaming floors and some stand-alone bars. That means most Strip casinos still allow smoking on the floor. Exceptions exist: Park MGM became the Strip's first fully smoke-free resort casino in 2020. Poker rooms in Las Vegas are almost always non-smoking, and most hotel rooms on the Strip are non-smoking too. Some casinos also have dedicated non-smoking slot areas or tables.

Before the trip

• Time it. If you can, wait until you're past the first few weeks of withdrawal. A trip as a six-month or one-year reward works well (see money saved by quitting).
• Choose your base. Staying at a smoke-free property, or one with a clear non-smoking area, means you can get back to clean air quickly.
• Ask for a room away from any smoking floor and on a high floor away from the casino.
• Pack your treatment. Patches for each day plus gum, lozenges or a mouth spray in your pocket. See NRT explained.
• Tell your travel companions. Ask smokers in the group not to offer you one, even as a joke.

On the casino floor

• Pick your spot. Look for non-smoking tables, slot sections or poker rooms. Air quality varies a lot between casinos and even areas of the same floor.
• Move if someone lights up next to you. You don't owe anyone an explanation.
• Watch the free drinks. Cocktail service while you play is part of the Vegas experience, and alcohol is one of the biggest relapse triggers. Alternate with water or soft drinks.
• Take breaks outside the casino, not with the smokers by the entrance. Walk to another resort, get some fresh air or head up to your room.
• Notice the win-or-lose moments. Many former smokers used to light up after a big hand or a losing streak. Have your gum ready for those moments.

Off the floor

Vegas has plenty to do away from the smoke: shows, restaurants, pools, shopping, and day trips to Red Rock Canyon or the Hoover Dam. Building your days around those, with the casino as one part of the trip rather than all of it, gives you fewer hours in smoky air and more time to enjoy being able to walk without wheezing.

Sleep, food and late nights

Tiredness weakens your resistance to cravings. So does hunger, and so does the 3 a.m. "one more round" mood. Try to keep some kind of sleep routine, eat proper meals rather than grazing, and decide in advance what time you'll call it a night. Buffets are tempting; our weight gain guide has tips for that too.

If you do slip

A cigarette at the craps table doesn't wipe out your progress unless you let it. Put it out, don't buy a pack, and read slips and relapse when you're home. Many people find the trip back is the moment they realise how much easier non-smoking life has become.