Smoking ban goes into effect: No smoking in homes that share a common wall

[The Straight Story]

Smokers in San Rafael (CA) are no longer allowed to light up in apartments, condominiums and any other residential units that share a common wall per a city ordinance that took effect Thursday.

The ban is part of a measure adopted by the City Council in October 2012 aimed at protecting people from secondhand smoke. The first phase of the ban took effect in November 2012, prohibiting smoking at parks, bus stops, restaurant patios and many other outdoor spaces.

Now it's up to landlords to enforce the housing part of the city's ordinance, which doesn't allow smokers in existing units to have grandfathered rights. All new and existing multi-family housing properties must be smoke-free.

...

"After we've gone down the friendly path, we have a violation notice. Then we can do a cease-and-desist letter," Prandi said. "Then we have the right to evict if we get that far, but we've never had to do that."

San Rafael's ordinance is similar to a countywide ordinance adopted May 2012. However, the county ordinance allows for landlords and condominium boards to seek exemptions for up to 20 percent of units. The same goes for an ordinance adopted by Larkspur in 2010.

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_24526552/san-rafaels-tough-anti-tobacco-ordinance-goes-into

[NYC_SKP]

1. More proof that if you have enough money you can skip lots of new laws.

More of the same.

[pnwmom]

5. The flip side of that is that if you are poor you can't protect yourself.

This will help people in apartments protect themselves.

[NYC_SKP]

7. True dat! nt

[Boom Sound 416]

26. I missed that. How?

[NightWatcher]

2. Is it for 2nd hand smoke or the fire hazard?

When I lived in apartments I was always nervous that some yahoo would fall asleep with a lit butt and burn the whole thing down.

[DesertFlower]

3. i did too. i also worried about

people having live xmas trees catching fire. our building had 105 apartments.

[NightWatcher]

4. I do so prefer having my own 4 walls now

Apartment living was not fun

[DesertFlower]

8. we didn't buy our first house till i was 48. that's

when we moved to phoenix from queens, ny. house prices there were ridiculous and we didn't want to move to the burbs. got a fabulous new home -- semi-custom with $30,000 in upgrades on 1/2 acre lot which included a pool and spa for $164,000. the house was 2413 sq. ft. with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and a loft.

my friend lives in staten island. he rents a guest house (cottage). it's very small but he's made it work with a loft bed -- storage underneath. he pays $600 a month with free utilities. he loves it. it's like his own little house.

my other friends live in NYC -- peter cooper village. they pay $3,000 a month for a 1 bedroom. they hear doors slam, smell other people's cooking, hear people arguing. $3,000 a month is a bargain in NYC.

[pipi_k]

18. I was always surprised

that my second husband, who was an alcoholic, never burned himself and others up.

His chair in the living room had a large circle of burn marks in the rug where he had dropped burning cigarette butts from smoking while drinking.

That one always scared me when I lived in apartment buildings, too.

Also, the ding dongs who leave candles burning.

Or who forget to turn off the stove burners. Actually I've done that myself, and it scares the bejeezus out of me.

[pipi_k]

22. If it's for fire hazard...

what about candles.

And incense.

And pot holders/towels left on the stovetop.

Really, if you think about it, there are a whole lot more ways for doofuses to burn down a building than just cigarettes...

[Tikki]

6. Excellent news…and a relief to the non-smokers next door..

In my community you can go to the cigarette shop and smoke there as long as they keep the door shut..


Tikki

[SidDithers]

9. Good...nt

Sid

[IrishAyes]

10. If smokers, especially heavier ones, had any idea how horribly they STINK, they might

exercise a little more consideration. But I doubt it. Tobacco itself doesn't stink; witness American Spirit brand. It's the additives which stink and addict. I used to feed my (hideously expensive) horses one American Spirit cigarette per month to control worms. But with heavy smokers, some of them I can smell coming before they arrive. Up close it can make me nearly faint. And I have an amazingly strong stomach further toughened by animal care and basic surgery when needed.

I'll never forget a heavy smoker's diatribe to which I was temporarily subjected; he complained about women wearing any degree of perfume because he was allergic to that.

[malaise]

13. Actually the entire house smells not just the smokers

We were both smokers and the smell of the drapes helped me stop a few years ago for the second time. First time I stopped for 14 years.
The good news here is that the government's smoking ban in public spaces is reaping big dividends.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Significant-decline-in-asthma-admissions-since-smoking-ban_15386290
<snip>
MINISTER of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson says there has been a 20 per cent reduction in asthmatic admissions to hospitals since the imposition of the no smoking policy in specified public spaces.

The ban was imposed on July 15, with the implementation of the Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations 2013.

The regulations are consistent with the Government's 2013/14 strategic priority focus on human capital development in relation to health care.

The minister, who was speaking at the official launch of the Heart Foundation of Jamaica's (HFJ) annual 'Run for your Heart' event on October 29 at Emancipation Park in New Kingston, urged Jamaicans to continue supporting the ban, noting that the country will see the gains in terms of having a healthier society.

He said all non-communicable diseases are impacted by tobacco smoking.
--------------------------

[solarhydrocan]

11. Is Medical Marijuana included or is this just tobacco?

the title says "Anti Tobacco" but smoke is smoke.

And the ordinance quoted in the paper talks about smoking

San Rafael Smoking Ordinance

• Bans smoking in all residential housing units that share a common wall.
• Prohibits smoking in all indoor and outdoor common areas of residential properties, except for specially designated smoking areas.
• Landlords and property managers are required to enforce the ordinance.
• Signs must be posted identifying the property as smoke-free.
• If tenants continue to violate the rules, landlords can call the Marin County Tobacco Disease Control Program at 473-3020.

[FarCenter]

14. That should cover crack and opium too.

[pipi_k]

21. Plus...

burning the pork chops

[IrishAyes]

15. Just to be safe, you might try Berkeley Brownies.

[Niceguy1]

28. it had better cover medical marijuana too

don't need to breathe that in second hand or have to spell it either

[beaglelover]

12. Glad I own a house and can make my own rules.

This is the most ridiculous ordinance I've ever heard of. Nanny state comes to life in San Rafael. Banning someone from using a legal substance in the privacy of their own apartment is an outrage. I wouldn't want to live in that kind of America.

[IrishAyes]

16. Do you also demand the right to appear naked in public whenever you choose, or to crap wherever

the mood strikes? Etc. Maturity and responsible citizenship involves a bit of self restraint out of consideration for others. Would you like it, for instance, if someone poisoned the common water supply or your neighbor felt it was fine to let his dog bark constantly or crap where it felt like it? I think not. Grow up. 'Smoker's Rights' is a crock. If you want to pollute the atmosphere, go buy and ruin your own completely separate dwelling.

[Skip Intro]

19. Poster was clearly talking inside the privacy of one's home.

Hard to miss.

[IrishAyes]

23. 'Inside the privacy of one's home' doesn't really exist in a communal building. Smoke, noise, and

other noxious pollution travels. If one apartment in a building harbors rodents or cockroaches, you can bet they don't remain at the original source. Same with smoke. I didn't notice any claim of living in a separate house. Even then, crammed as close as houses are in many large cities, they almost might as well be apartments. My statement stands.

[beaglelover]

24. I guess you missed the title of my post.....

Where I say I have my own house so I don't have to worry about these ridiculous new rules that won't hold up in court when challenged.

[Coyotl]

25. Pets have more rights than we do!

[Logical]

20. How about playing drums? Or a Piano at midnight? Isn't that a right also? n-t

[Eleanors38]

27. Marijuana & Tobacco: Two prohibitions passing in the night, one to replace the other.

Don't worry, this is standard American Prohibitionism, and we have the huge tax base, law enforcement organizations, jails, and bureaucracies to effect it. And if you don't want to go along with it, we have the smugglers, gangs, and vast funding to get you what you do want.
We are quite experienced at this.

[PeteSelman]

17. What's next? No frying liver in your apartment

No bacon? Nothing that causes any kind of smoke?