San Francisco backtracks on apartment smoking ban

After voting in favor of a ban on smoking tobacco in apartments on December 1, 2020, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors reversed course a week later.

On December 1, 2020, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors[1], the legislative body of the City and County of San Francisco, passed an ordinance by a vote of 10 to 1 making the California municipality the largest city in the United States to ban indoor tobacco smoking.

However, to be ratified, the ordinance had to be voted on a second time a week later, on December 8, 2020. To everyone's surprise, the about-face of one of the supervisors during the week prevented the final adoption of the ordinance[2].

“You shouldn’t have to live in a detached house to be able to breathe clean air.”

The decision, passed on December 1, was intended to protect building residents from the risks associated with passive smoking. "Non-smokers do not have adequate means to protect themselves from the damage inflicted by second-hand smoke."3], indicated the text of the ordinance, which considered that regulating smoking in multi-family dwellings was "necessary to protect the health, safety, welfare, comfort, and environment of non-smokers." Currently, in San Francisco, the ban on smoking in multi-family dwellings only applies to common areas such as hallways and elevators.

Board of Supervisors Chairman and ordinance author Norman Yee defended his proposal, saying, "You shouldn't have to live in a single-family home to be able to breathe clean air. That right should exist for every person and every family, regardless of where they live or how much they earn."4].

The ban was intended to cover both traditional tobacco consumption and the use of electronic cigarettes, but excluded the consumption of cannabis – the recreational use of which has been permitted in California since 2016 – as it is not permitted in public spaces and is therefore only possible in private spaces.5].

The order was finally sent back to committee after an unexpected turnaround.

Following this first vote, the ordinance was to be submitted to a second vote the following week. A second vote which, according to journalist Trisha Thadani of the San Francisco Chronicle, represented a "formality"[6However, on Tuesday, December 8, the order was not ratified as expected, due to the about-face of one of the supervisors, Aaron Peskin.

The latter indicated that he had changed his mind after hearing residents, mostly elderly, complain about an infringement of their rights inside their homes.7]. They had notably told him of their fear of being fined even though, according to them, there had never been any complaints from their neighbors.

"Many newer buildings are already subject to landlord-imposed smoking bans, so the people most likely to be affected by the proposed ordinance would be residents who live in older apartments."8], especially elderly and/or low-income people, the supervisor continued.

Aaron Peskin therefore made a request to send the order back to committee for further consideration; this request was accepted by a vote of 6 to 5.9].

Supervisor Norman Yee expressed regret at the referral to committee: "It is deeply regrettable that policies intended to protect our communities from the very real health impacts of secondhand smoke are so often seen as controversial policies that attack the rights of smokers. It is completely backwards, reversing the norm, that we would defend the right of people to smoke in their homes over the right of others to breathe safely."10].

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[11], exposure to secondhand smoke is responsible for more than 41,000 deaths each year in the United States[12].

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] San Francisco Board of Supervisors. [2] San Francisco nixes smoking ban inside apartments, Los Angeles Times (December 9, 2020, accessed December 10, 2020). [3] Hayley Smith, San Francisco is poised to ban smoking in apartments and condos — but cannabis is exempt, Los Angeles Times (December 2, 2020, accessed December 10, 2020). [4] Trisha Thadani, SF bans tobacco smoking inside apartment buildings, allows cannabis smoking, San Francisco Chronicle (December 2, 2020, accessed December 10, 2020). [5] Hayley Smith, San Francisco is poised to ban smoking in apartments and condos — but cannabis is exempt, Los Angeles Times (December 2, 2020, accessed December 10, 2020). [6] Trisha Thadani, SF bans tobacco smoking inside apartment buildings, allows cannabis smoking, San Francisco Chronicle (December 2, 2020, accessed December 10, 2020). [7] San Francisco nixes smoking ban inside apartments, Los Angeles Times (December 9, 2020, accessed December 10, 2020). [8] Mallory Moench, SF reverses course on tobacco smoking ban inside apartment buildings, seeks more review, San Francisco Chronicle (December 8, 2020, accessed December 10, 2020). [9] San Francisco nixes smoking ban inside apartments, Los Angeles Times (December 9, 2020, accessed December 10, 2020). [10] Mallory Moench, SF reverses course on tobacco smoking ban inside apartment buildings, seeks more review, San Francisco Chronicle (December 8, 2020, accessed December 10, 2020).

[11] "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), form the principal U.S. government agency for protecting public health and public safety.

Activity and exercise management for patients with CFS, asso-sfc.org (accessed December 1, 2020). [12] Mallory Moench, SF reverses course on tobacco smoking ban inside apartment buildings, seeks more review, San Francisco Chronicle (December 8, 2020, accessed December 10, 2020). DNF - For a Zero Tobacco World |