Smokers are among the most discriminated people and the facts prove it

 

 

By Kevin Woo | California Lawyer

 

Richard H. Lee, a partner and litigator at Salisian Lee in Los Angeles, is a smoker. That doesn’t always go over well, even though he smokes only about a pack of cigarettes a week (along with an occasional cigar). He’s always mindful of those he invites along when he pops into a cigar bar to relax: “I’m very careful not to put someone I only know professionally in an awkward position.”

 

For more than 20 years, California has prohibited smoking in restaurants, most bars and other indoor places. (See Cal. Labor Code § 6404.5.). With many outdoor locations now off limits too, the prohibitions are so thorough that it can feel almost illicit to see people puffing away in the occasional shop or bar. But those venues are likely perfectly law-abiding. They benefit from a confusing collection of exemptions. Cigar bars, tobacco shops, hotel lobbies (no joke!), workplaces with fewer than five employees, and a small number of other businesses may allow smoking – as long as they don’t serve food.

 

The confusion is likely to grow as many cities and the federal government restrict the use of electronic cigarettes (which emit vapor instead of smoke), while some businesses and municipalities allow “vaping” in places where smoking is banned.

 

Smoking loopholes

 

A 2007 effort to close California’s smoking loopholes and a 2010 attempt to ban smoking at state parks and beaches both failed when then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a cigar smoker, vetoed them. Attempts at change haven’t fared any better under Governor Jerry Brown, whose reelection campaign has so far received more than $50,000 from Philip Morris USA.

 

So if you’re a smoker and you think the number of places where you can light up are limited.  You’re right.

 

California’s smoking laws

 

According to California smoking laws, smoking within 20-feet of a public building is illegal.  For the record, most sidewalks are six feet wide so it’s probably a good idea to look both ways when you light up in the middle of the street. Hotels are required to set aside 20 percent of its rooms for smokers. Most hotels are totally non smoking because the smell can be transmitted between the walls and through the vents.

 

Surely you can smoke when you’re outdoors, right?  The answer is – soft of. If you’re in a national forest smoking is only allowed in designated areas.  And if you’re taking of lighting up anywhere near kids playing at the park, back up 65 feet from the swings because second hand smoke is dangerous for kids.

 

If you’re getting the impression that smokers have no rights.  That’s a pretty good take-away.