The San Francisco, Calif., Board of Supervisors have voted by a slim majority to postpone a controversial proposal that would ban the behaviors of smoking and vaping tobacco products in multi-unit, privately owned apartment complexes within city limits.
The supervisors voted 10-to-one in favor of an ordinance that was proposed by Board President Norman Yee prohibiting the vaping and smoking of tobacco and nicotine products in private dwellings, even if the home is rented or actually occupied by the owners.
Supervisor Dean Preston was the only sole vote against the initial vote on Yee’s measure.
Preston said the proposal would most likely have a negative impact on long-term tenants who signed leases before landlords began banning indoor smoking, notes the Associated Press and Vaping Post’s previous coverage on this topic.
This action was taken on December 1, with a final reading of the proposal scheduled to approve the measure.
However, in a 6-to-5 slim majority, Supervisor Aaron Peskin managed to get a request to send Yee’s proposal back to the committee phase for further research on the personal impacts of the ban on low-income tenants.
Like legislation proposed in San Francisco, two votes in favor of the bill are required for it to pass the board of supervisors.
Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, then has to sign the bill into law, further promulgating the duties of the bill to the appropriate departments.
San Francisco was the first U.S. city to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes entirely. The measure to ban vaping and smoking in apartments is the latest attempt to strictly regulate these behaviors because of the misguided perception that e-cigarettes are as dangerous, or more so, than traditional combustible tobacco cigarettes.
Expect more action on this proposal in the coming weeks.
Vaping Post reached out to the office of Norman Yee for comment. No response was sent.
This is a developing story.
San Francisco Poised to Ban Smoking and Vaping in Private Apartment Homes
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