California City: No Smoking in Your Condo

Is California on its way to not allowing smoking … anywhere? Smoking is already banned in restaurants, bars, most workplaces, and cars with children inside—and now, in at least a few cities, it's also prohibited in multi-family homes. San Rafael, a suburb of San Francisco, this week became the latest city to ban smoking in duplexes, condos, and all other homes with shared walls, as well as on downtown streets, Reuters reports. "We are happy to blaze a trail," the mayor says. "We think it will set the tone for other cities as well."

Indeed, city officials—the City Council voted for the ban unanimously—hope to see similar regulations follow across the state and eventually the country, and tobacco-control experts think that may indeed happen. Of course, not everyone is a fan: "This proposed smoking ban actually intends to punish people for what they do in their own homes," one resident said at a council meeting. "I really feel this is tyranny." Eight other California municipalities already restricted smoking in multi-unit housing. (More smoking stories.)