It Is Now Illegal To Smoke In Your Own Home In San Rafael, California

Jess Remington|Nov. 25, 2013 6:05 pm

In a unanimous decision, members of the San Rafael City Council have approved the strictest type of smoking ordinance in the country. Effective last week, Assembly Bill 746 bans residents of apartments, condos, duplexes, and multi-family houses from smoking cigarettes and “tobacco products” inside their homes.
Moonfall Pix/FlickrIntroduced by Assembly Member Marc Levine and pushed by the Smoke-Free Marin Coalition for over seven years, the ordinance applies to owners and renters in all buildings that house wall-sharing units for three or more families. The purpose is to prevent second-hand smoke from travelling through doors, windows, floorboards, crawl spaces, or ventilation systems (i.e. any conceivable opening) into neighboring units.
San Rafael joins a growing number of cities, such as Belmont, CA, that have implemented similar bans.*
Levine said the bill is motivated by his desire to ensure that "Californians [can] breathe clean air in their own homes." He continued, "In apartments or condominiums, whenever a neighbor lights up, everyone in the building smokes with them."
Rebecca Woodbury, an analyst at the City Manager’s office who helped write the ordinance, explained some of the bill's specifics to ABC News. "It doesn't matter if it's owner-occupied or renter-occupied," she said. "We didn't want to discriminate. The distinguishing feature is the shared wall...I’m not aware of any ordinance that’s stronger."

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http://reason.com/blog/2013/11/25/it-is-now-illegal-to-smoke-in-your-own-h