New Santa Monica Ordinance Makes It Illegal To Light Up Inside A Smoker's Home

SANTA MONICA (CBS) — Santa Monica smokers may be breaking the law if they light up in the privacy of their own homes, after the City Council approved a more restrictive anti-smoking law Tuesday night.

The ordinance would prohibit smoking for new tenants in multi-unit housing and force existing residents to declare their apartments and condos as smoking or non-smoking units, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. If smokers neglect to designate their units, they lose the right to light up at home.

The City Council also asked for a drop dead date after which every unit in Santa Monica would be declared non-smoking.

Information about whether a unit is smoking or non-smoking would also be given to every resident in the building, concerning at least two city council members that the designation would "create second class citizens," according to the Daily Press.