Will SF Ban People Smoking in Their Apartments?

Thanks to SF Examiner for letting us know about a new proposal to ban smoking in apartment units in SF.

Board of Supervisors President Norman Yee is pushing a new piece of legislation forward which would prohibit people from smoking tobacco or cannabis in their apartments in buildings with 3 or more units.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on the proposal on December 1. The main concern is the harm secondhand smoke causes to neighboring units. Proponents argue everyone has the right to clean air. Approximately 50% of San Francisco residents live in multi-unit buildings, and 12% of San Franciscans smoke.

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman has raised concerns with the proposal including cannabis, and hopes to exclude cannabis from the proposal, nothing that there’s few places in San Francisco where you are legally allowed to consume cannabis.

If passed, the Department of Public Health would enforce the no smoking rule in apartments, first working on education and resources to quit smoking. However, multiple offenses could incur fines of up to $1,000 a day.

63 other counties and cities across California have passed similar legislation including Berkeley, San Mateo, and Daly City.