District Judge Douglas Herndon is scheduled to conduct a hearing this morning on a request for a court order to stop government officials from implementing or enforcing Nevada's newly approved anti-smoking law.

The law is set to take effect Friday unless Herndon orders otherwise, and police and health district officials have been sorting out how it will be enforced.

A group of Las Vegas and Henderson businesses filed a lawsuit Tuesday that alleges the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, which voters approved in November, is unconstitutional.

On Wednesday, Nevada Attorney General George Chanos, a defendant in the lawsuit, urged the court to reject the businesses' request.

"It would be against the public interest, as well as the will of the Nevada voters in enacting the NCIAA, for the court to issue a temporary restraining order in this matter," the court filing from Chanos states.

Chanos argues that the plaintiffs have failed to establish that they will suffer any damage if the law takes effect.

"A tenuous or speculative possibility of incurring some nonspecific damage or harm at some nebulous time in the future" fails to meet the requirement for court interference, the attorney general's brief notes.

Chanos also counters the lawsuit's challenges to the constitutionality of the new restrictions. The lawsuit claims the new statute "is impermissibly vague" about what conduct it criminalizes and therefore violates the plaintiffs' constitutional right to due process.

It also claims the law "arbitrarily distinguishes between similarly situated entities without rational relation to a legitimate government interest" and therefore violates the plaintiffs' constitutional right to equal protection.

The Chanos filing states that the new law "is not vague when read in its entirety."

He adds that the "plaintiffs' equal protection argument is essentially a complaint about the NCIAA's under-inclusiveness, based on its inclusion of certain businesses in, and exclusion of others from, the prohibition on smoking. However, under-inclusiveness is no basis for invalidating a law."

The law furthers the state's long-standing public policy of placing restrictions "on the smoking of tobacco in public places to protect human health and safety," Chanos' filing notes.

As for enforcement of the new smoking ban, it will vary depending on the jurisdiction.

The Metropolitan Police Department, which polices Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County, will take a "warn and inform" approach, Sheriff Bill Young said Wednesday.

If called about a violation, Las Vegas police will ask smokers to put out their cigarettes and inform them of the new law. If they refuse to comply, smokers can be cited with a misdemeanor, which carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Las Vegas police also can remove a patron at the request of a business owner. Businesses can be cited if they fail to post the mandatory "no smoking" signs.

"We do not want to have to take harsh enforcement action, but we will if we're forced to," Young said.

North Las Vegas police, on the other hand, have no plans to enforce the ban. "We're not going to be the smoking police," said officer Tim Bedwell, a spokesman for the department.

He said any violations in establishments will be handled by city code enforcement officers.

In Henderson, police and city lawyers on Wednesday were trying to figure out what the law requires.

"Our main goal is to uphold the will of the people, but enforcement (requirement) in the bill wasn't that clear," officer Todd Rasmussen said.

Young said he hopes the courts will clarify the vague portions of the law.

"This is a very, very controversial and emotionally filled issue, and we really think there are a lot of ... questions in the law about enforcement," Young said.

Local health authorities also are to have a role in enforcing the law.

On the front page of the Southern Nevada Health District's Web site -- www.cchd.org -- is a link labeled Nevada Clean Indoor Act. It leads to a page with guides for employers, restaurants and bars, and child care facilities. There is also contact information for businesses or members of the public who have questions about the law.

"Nobody wants to hit anybody over the head with this," said Charlene Herst, manager of the state Health Division's chronic disease section, which is helping educate businesses about the law. "We're going to be very proactive in terms of educating businesses about the law. The worst that will probably happen is a citation, and I don't see anything like that happening any time soon.''

Health agencies on Wednesday were trying to standardize logos for the state's "no smoking" signs.

That was the subject of a morning conference call involving local and state health officials, Nevada State Health Officer Dr. Bradford Lee said.

The Southern Nevada Health District Web site has a link to downloadable generic "no smoking'' signs.

Herst said businesses should know that if they buy their own signs, they need to be conspicuous and comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Review-Journal writer Annette Wells contributed to this report.