Soon San Francisco tobacco-lovers could be stripped of their right to light up near entrances and windows of any public building, including eateries, malls and residential complexes. Smokers will also not be allowed to puff at outdoor patios of restaurants and bars. In addition, all athletic events, farmers markets, cab stands and even lines for concerts and cinemas will become smoke-free.
The proposal to amend the present anti-smoking policy emerged just a week after a bill to cut the number of certified tobacco shops had been introduced to the Board of Supervisors.
San Francisco already has a long list of public places where smoking has been banned.
Eric Mar, Member of Supervisors Board and the principal sponsor of the amendment declared that the objective of the regulations proposed last week has been the protection of the residents of San Francisco from the risks of environmental tobacco smoke.
If the bill is adopted, San Francisco would become another Bay Area county, joining Novato, Belmont, Berkeley and Palo Alto that has made the overwhelming majority of public ares smoke-free, meaning that lighting up is illegal there.
The move to ban lighting up in areas of people’ gathering hastened after California Air Resources Panel and the Surgeon General published a research several years ago, which underlined the health hazards related with passive smoking that included malignant tumors, heart diseases, etc.
Local anti-smoking organizations already expressed their support to the bill, as they consider such measures an effective strategy to reduce smoking rates.
The new regulations will not be as rigorous as in several neighboring areas, like for instance in Richmond, where smoking is prohibited even in the units of residential complexes; however, local officials are following Richmond steps, according to Diane Cameron, the spokesperson for American Heart Foundation.
Besides the aforementioned public areas, the SF bill would ban lighting up in lobbies, laundry, yards, stairs, and other join spaces of any housing complexes with more than two units.
Those who are used to puff outside of their complexes would be obliged to light up at least 10 feet from the entrance. In addition, people who usually light up in their apartments would be obliged to do it only with their doors and windows shut. At the same time, single-family houses are not covered by the amendment.
“It’s a shock,” exclaimed Jeremy Butler, an on-and-off smoker, who said he has been sick and tired of those restrictions. The 25-year-old freelance software designer moved to San Francisco from Tallahassee several weeks ago and spent his days in the yard near his apartment, drinking Coke, smoking and working on his new project. He said he simply doesn’t believe that the danger of second hand smoke exists in reality.
Under the California Clean Air Act smoking is outlawed in public buildings and eateries, hover many communities have approved much stricter regulations on where smoking is prohibited. The most stringent smoking bans are in Richmond, Belmont, Oakland, Los Gatos, Santa Rosa, San Jose, Palo Alto and other Bay Area localities.