Illegal to Smoke at Home: Butt Out?
Two new legal commandments have been delivered to the Silicon Valley town of Belmont, California:
Thou shalt not smoke in thy apartment
Thou shalt inform authorities of anyone who does smoke in an apartment
Belmont is home to America’s most restrictive secondhand smoking law, which now makes it illegal to light up in an apartment or condo that shares a wall, ceiling, or floor with another unit. Violators face a $100 fine from the city, as well as eviction if smoking violates their lease agreement.
Additionally, the new law makes citizens responsible for enforcing it by encouraging them to call authorities and report their neighbors if they light up in any home other than a free-standing house.
All of which has left some residents fuming—outside.
“I’m absolutely outraged,” said one apartment dweller who now must leave home to smoke her two packs a day. “They’re telling you how to live and what to do, and they’re doing it right here in America.”
Proponents of the new law, including the California Lung Association, see it differently. “They simply said that secondhand smoke is no less dangerous when it’s in your bedroom than in your workplace,” explained a spokesperson.
“They” is the Belmont city council, whose members have received hate mail for passing the no-smoking-at-home ordinance, which one former council member likens to other matters of shared-living etiquette. “You can’t walk around naked in your house with the blinds open, or you’ll get arrested,” he said. “You can’t play loud music in your house and bother your neighbors. It’s illegal.”
But even some supporters of smokers’ responsibility to so-called third parties, such as neighbors, are questioning whether Belmont should butt out. “There are good scientific and public health reasons for restricting smoking in closed public spaces,” said an expert in public health ethics. “But when such restrictions are extended to beaches, parks, sidewalks and now to the homes of smokers, the argument that third-party harms must be prevented becomes increasingly untenable.”
Tell us what you think: Should smokers be responsible for their neighbors’ health? Should citizens be responsible for turning in at-home smokers? How far should government go in determining what you can do in the privacy of your home?
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Bravo
It’s about time that someone stood up for non-smokers. I wish Los Angeles would adopt such a law. I live in an apartment with a smoker below me and I am having respiratory problems because of it. My sinuses are raw, my throat is hoarse and I can hardly breathe. My landlord will not do anything about it, but I cannot afford to move. And even if I did move, maybe I’d end up with another smoker downstairs. It is immoral that a person addicted to tobacco should have the right to harm the health of someone who chooses not to smoke but who is forced to breathe in someone else’s smoke!
Diana Osberg | 2 months, 3 weeks ago
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crazy
THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO BUTT OUT OF ALOT OF THINGS WE ARE NOT BABIES , GOD GAVE US FREEDOM OF CHOICE SO SHOULD THE GOV
TINA WIX | 2 months, 3 weeks ago
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GOOD FOR US! FINALLY GETTING A BACKBONE
Smokers are disrespectful, juvenile, self serving, inconsiderate people that need to be regulated by law in order to abide by common courtesy. If they would refrain from bombarding people with their distasteful habit then there would be no need would be no reason to implement laws.
Nicole | 2 months, 3 weeks ago
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NAZI's
It’s another example of the freedoms that we are losing in America. GOD gave us all the freedom to choose between good/evil and the USA has decided to Play GOD and restrict these freedoms. Why? Because winers run around complaining about everything these days. Theres no solid proof that second hand smoke is harmful to anyones health. It’s not harmful to anyone if you smoke in small cubical in a restaurant and it certainly doesn’t harm anyone to smoke in your own home It’s all BS!!!! . Why not just ban selling cigarettes? Because states would lose alot of revenue and hand it over to bootleggers.
GO ahead winers parade around and take away the freedom of a few,, your freedoms will be next….I’m kind of leaning on the side of freedom of speech if it will shut the winers up…
JW | 2 months, 3 weeks ago
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non smoker
my parents think that alcohol should be banned, but they think its okay for people to smoke pot. and they are chain smokers, even tho their my parents i think their thought process is totally messed up. and let me back up their cigarette chain smokers. i have never smoke in my intire life. i have a little boy , and i do not let them smoke around him. but they think im a snob for it. i work i the medical field and i know what a set of smokers lungs look like, and i know what a non smokers look like. its really nasty! and i think if everyone could see for themselves. they might reconsider. and second hand smoke on children is also damaging. please if people care about kids and other people. think about quitting. also it really stinks you just cant smell yourself because you have destroyed your ventillation system.
l. sadler | 2 months, 2 weeks ago
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senior sales representative
Both of my grandfathers died of lung cancer and my namesake (brother of my paternal grandfather) all died of lung cancer, and all of them smoked all of their lives. Looks like the only right smokers have is to die prematurely. I don’t smoke now but did in high school. Smoking tasted terrible, made everything around me stink, it cost me lots of money. Where’s the upside? Go ahead smoke yourself to death, I don’t care what you do – but don’t expect any sympathy or understanding from me. One thing that was not mentioned in this article- one out of three domestic fires is associated with smoking behavior. While second hand smoke might not kill everyone a house fire certainly could!
owen wightman | 2 months, 2 weeks ago
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N/A
The upstairs tenant smokes on his balcony above me. The smoke gets trapped in the corner of a L shaped building & his smoke blows into my apartment through open windows. The tenant and his guests smoke on the balcony so that the smoke does not go into his apartment. He does not want to stink up his apartment, but does not care about his neighbors.
Occasionally, he has smoked in the apartment and the smoke comes down the ventilation, into my living room.
I live in Southern California with a hot climate and having windows open is a necessity. I also like to sit on my patio and enjoy the outdoors.
I am trying to care for my health. I do not like to smell his second hand smoke night or day. I also do not want his third hand smoke which gets into my curtains, furniture, clothes. (Yes, there is now third hand smoke, in smoker’s clothes, hair, furniture, environment).
Jane Hammel | 2 months, 2 weeks ago
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Smoking is disgusting!
I just get angry when I read all these whiny posts about how this would affect the smokers individual rights. Aww poor you! Rights to what? Smoke? Give me a break, you deep voiced disgustingly dirty in-home smokers. Get your lazy ### up and go outside and light up your dirty cigarettes. I live in an apartment complex and the neighbors smoke comes right on over to my place regardless if we open windows, and try and air it out, it’s one nasty dirty smell that I have to live with. I’m sorry but comparing this to overeating is just a stupid comment. Smoking not only harms you but your dirty habit harms others, drinking doesn’t do this, nor does overeating. Just another note, when I drove past the food bank, not only did I see dirty people in line, I saw dirty people smoking in line for FREE HANDOUT FOODS. Pathetic, you have money for ciggys, then you have money for a bologna sandwich at walmart.
SMOKING IS DIRTY! GIVE IT UP! I HOPE THEY PASS THIS IN OHIO, I’M GUNNING FOR IT.
Michele | 2 months, 2 weeks ago
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this is stupid
I dont understand why the heck the tobacco companies are allowed to put such harmful inredients in the smoke that cause all these problems in the first place. There are smokes called American Spirits that are 100% all natural tobacco with nothing harmful or addictive but yet u cant even smoke those in public. And i dont know if many people know this but Alcohol is the most addicting drug ever known and its the most commonly abused. It is also the only drug that u can die from the withdrawls. It also is a danger to the general population so please tell me why these two things are the only legal recreational drugs….? Yeah it makes no since to me either. In my oppinion its the best way for revenue that government has next to traffic violations now.
Anna | 2 months, 2 weeks ago
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Evie priddy
I dont understand all the fuss over smoking when Alcohol is killing innocent people everyday. I dont know anyone trying to stop people, from drinking and beating their wifes and children in their apartments, or homes, and then getting in their automobiles and trying to kill someone else on the road.Then we have our drug dealers, Are they not killing people, including our children, grandchildren, I think there is a lot more to worry about than cigarette smoke. Including obesity in our younger generation, from lack of exercise. should we outlaw sega nintendo, x-box and all the other games ,what about cell phones, laptops, anything that keeps them from exercise, fresh air and sunshine. All the fast food theyre exposed to. Ithink we have a lot more to worry about ,Including What theyre exposed to on tv can it get any worse? And the songs , or what we call music , what can this be doing to their souls ,We wonder why children are killing their parents and grandparents, and each other ,and comitting suicide, I dont think it has much to do with cigarettes.do you?
Evie Priddy | 2 months, 2 weeks ago
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