About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


54 Rutgers L. Rev. 135 (2001-2002)
Get Your Ashes Out of My Living Room: Controlling Tobacco Smoke in Multi-Unit Residential Housing

handle is hein.journals/rutlr54 and id is 145 raw text is: GET YOUR ASHES OUT OF MY LIVING ROOM!: CONTROLLING TOBACCO SMOKE IN MULTI-UNIT RESIDENTIAL HOUSING David B. Ezra* In this Article, the Author addresses one of the newer fronts in the battle between smokers and nonsmokers-the home. The Article suggests that existing legal precedent allows property owners and managers to regulate or prohibit smoking in various residential set- tings. After presenting a short history of tobacco regulation, the Au- thor discusses the adverse consequences property owners and man- agers face as a result of residential smoking. In addition to fire risks and increased maintenance costs, the Article reviews residential smoking situations that have led to litigation against property own- ers. The Author also addresses the range of options for property owners and managers who want to regulate residential smoking, and the argument smokers might make to challenge smoking re- strictions in multi-unit residential housing. The Article concludes by offering practical suggestions for those who are interested in regu- lating smoking in residential settings. I. INTRODUCTION Smoking or nonsmoking? Throughout the country, restaurant employees ask this simple question a million times a day.' Segrega- * Partner, Berger, Kahn, Shafton, Moss, Figler, Simon & Gladstone; J.D. Uni- versity of Southern California, 1990; B.A. California State University, Fullerton, 1987. The views this Article expresses are the Author's. They are not intended to reflect the views of the Berger Kahn law firm or its clients. The Author gratefully acknowledges research support provided by the California Department of Health Services Tobacco Control Section and S.A.F.E. (Smokefree Air For Everyone). This Article was made possible by funds received from the Tobacco Tax Health Protection Act of 1988- Proposition 99, under Grant Number 00-90382 with the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section. 1. California diners rarely hear this question. Since 1994 California has prohib- ited smoking in the large majority of enclosed places where people work. CAL. LAB. CODE § 6404.5 (West Supp. 2001). In 1998, these restrictions were extended to bars and taverns. Id. § 6404.5(f). The law was intended to protect workers who would oth- erwise be forced to inhale secondhand smoke. Studies suggest that bar workers inhale up to six times more secondhand smoke than office workers and, as compared to the general public, food service workers may be one and a half times as likely to develop lung cancer. See Amanda Husted '& Lillian Lee Kim, Bar, Restaurant Workers More Likely to Develop Lung Cancer, Study Says, ATLANTA J. & CONST., July. 28, 1993, at