San Francisco bans indoor tobacco smoking, marijuana permitted

San Francisco city officials this week voted to ban all smoking inside of apartments, with the exception of smoking marijuana.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 to approve the move on Tuesday. The legislation bans smoking inside of buildings with three or more units and in all common areas, although it does not apply to “adult-use” or medical marijuana, CNN reported.

The measure is targeted at protecting apartment residents from secondhand smoke. 

The president of the city’s Board of Supervisors, Norman Yee, who authored the legislation, tweeted Wednesday that “Secondhand smoke causes harm & everyone should have clean air to breathe where they live.” 

After starting this in January, I’m happy to report @sfbos passed my Smoke-free Multi-Unit Housing Legislation tonight, with a cannabis exemption. Secondhand smoke causes harm & everyone should have clean air to breathe where they live. Thanks to my colleagues for their support!

— Norman Yee (@NormanYeeSF) December 2, 2020

The San Francisco Department of Public Health is set to enforce the measure. Officials must first try to educate people who smoke inside of apartment buildings and help residents who smoke tobacco quit, The Associated Press reported.

Residents who are repeatedly caught smoking inside could be fined up to $1,000 a day.

The original legislation also sought to ban residents from smoking marijuana in their apartments. However, it is already illegal under California state law to smoke cannabis in public places, and activists pointed out that the proposal would remove the legal place to smoke marijuana.

San Francisco now joins 63 other California cities that have passed similar bans. The ordinance must pass another vote by the Board of Supervisors before going to Mayor London Breed’s desk.

If she approves the measure, the law will go into effect 30 days after her approval. 

Cigarette smoking kills over 480,000 people per year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over 41,000 deaths are caused by exposure to secondhand smoke.