A proposal to ban indoor smoking in rental apartments and condos proposed for San Francisco has many dusting off the city's moniker "Ban Francisco". The city has always been a state-of-the-art ban leader having recently banned menthol, vaping flavors, natural gas, indoor dining, etc. etc.
The law, as currently proposed, bans all forms of indoor smoking, including tobacco and cannabis, in apartment buildings with three or more units. While the proposal states that tenants cannot be evicted for smoking indoors, it includes the possibility of fines of up to $1,000 per day for noncompliance, according to a report in the Examiner
At the law’s first hearing, the proposing supervisor said he was open to including an exemption for medical cannabis users, but not recreational cannabis users. Another supervisor countered that since recreational cannabis was legalized, many people who use cannabis medicinally do not have a medical card or prescription.
San Francisco currently bans smoking in the enclosed common areas of multi-unit buildings. This proposal extends to interiors of those buildings' private homes, as well as to balconies and patios.
The proposing supervisor argued for the ban on the grounds that people are largely expected to shelter in their homes during the pandemic. One could use that same argument against the proposed ban that it’s better to have people smoking in their apartments than lighting up on crowded public streets, but logic is not a strong suit of the anti-tobacco industry.
Several other Bay Area cities already have similar bans on smoking in multi-family buildings, including Berkeley, Daly City, and all of Santa Clara County.
The apartment smoking ban proposal will go before the full board of supervisors on December 1.