New Law May Change Where People Are Able To Smoke

California lawmakers passed a law allowing landlords to ban smoking in rental properties.

The law doesn’t force landlords to prohibit smoking in their buildings, but it gives them the choice to make their properties smoke-free.

One renter, Don Vallier, said he thinks this is unfair.

“It just kind of takes away your rights, just one more thing you can’t do,” Vallier said. “There’s no smoking in bars and restaurants, and that’s fine, because there are other people around you. But in your own home, you should be able to do what you want to do.”

About a third of Californians are renters, according to the most recent statistics. Until now, landlords couldn’t control if renters smoked.

That means non-smokers and their children had no choice but to breathe in secondhand smoke if their neighbor smoked.

Experts said that secondhand smoke kills about 49,000 nonsmokers every year and causes respiratory infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis in 300,000 children.

One mother is glad to hear about this new law.

“I don’t smoke. I’m totally against it. I don’t like to be around it. I don’t like anybody to be around me when they’re smoking because it’s just not comfortable, especially because I have little ones,” Tanya Figueroa said.

This law goes into effect Jan. 1.