Breathing New Life Into Smoke-Free Living

“Smoking at Home Targeted” (March 2) states that “people irritated by secondhand smoke call [Assemblyman Joe] Nation’s bill long overdue.” We wish it were as simple as an “irritation.”

Those of us who are making the call to action to which Nation, a San Rafael Democrat, has responded have illnesses such as migraines, lupus, heart disease, asthma and other serious lung diseases that are seriously made worse by tobacco smoke. As the American Lung Assn. states, “When you can’t breathe, nothing else matters.”

To say we must live with secondhand smoke in our homes to accommodate the smokers is absurd. To simply ask that we have the option to live in our apartment or condo smoke-free is not an unreasonable request. No one is saying smokers cannot smoke in their own homes; AB 210 merely protects nonsmokers by separating them from any designated “smoking sections.” Most condo associations and apartment landlords have either refused to provide safe, smoke-free homes or are waiting for laws that give them a safety net to do so. Tobacco smoke is dangerous. Far too many adults and children have been made very sick by their neighbor’s smoke. Therefore, legislation has become necessary.

Jacque Petterson

Acting Chair

Condo Owners

for Smokefree Living

Santa Clarita