Judge blocks DC man from smoking in his own home... at least for a while
Smoke a cigarette in the privacy of your home? For one Washington, DC man, that鈥檚 no longer an option 鈥� at least for a while.
A Superior Court judge barring Edwin Gray from smoking inside the Northeast DC home his family has owned for 50 years, .
Justice Ronna L. Beck鈥檚 decision comes after Mr. Gray鈥檚 next-door neighbors 鈥� a couple with one child and another on the way 鈥� filed in December a civil lawsuit claiming Gray鈥檚 cigarette smoke causes harm to their family when it seeps into their home through a hole in the basement.聽In addition to the ban, the claim asks for $500,000 in damages.聽
The case highlights an ongoing movement in the District and around the country against cigarette smoking in places where it might cause harm to others, in some cases overruling what seems to be an individual鈥檚 right to smoke.
Judge Beck, in issuing the injunction, reportedly agreed with the plaintiffs鈥� claim.
鈥淲e were floored,鈥� Gray鈥檚 sister, Mozella Johnson, told the WLJA in response to the temporary ruling.
Yet the decision to grant the injunction is not all that surprising, says John Banzhaf, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University and founder of the nonprofit . 聽
The general public 鈥� 鈥� now acknowledges that smoking is bad for one's health, with some even agreeing secondhand smoke can be hazardous, Mr. Banzhaf says. Indeed, as of January this year, 36 states and the District of Columbia have laws that ban smoking in public places. In Washington, DC, bars, restaurants, and workplaces have been .
But what about the individual鈥檚 right to engage in a chosen activity, particularly in one鈥檚 own home? As Gray told WLJA: 鈥淵ou want me to stop what I鈥檝e been doing in my house, all my life?鈥�
He and his sister have told the network that they intend to fight the injunction, which stops any family or guests from smoking cigarettes, cigars, or marijuana in their home 鈥� though they can step outside for a smoke.聽
Smokers鈥� associations have also continued to fight legislation that prohibits smoking. They cite discrimination, heavy taxation, and widespread anti-smoking campaigns that they claim are based on junk science.
鈥淧ublic health advocates who claim one out of every three, or even one out of every two, smokers will die from a smoking-related illness are grossly exaggerating the real threat,鈥� Joseph L. Bast, president of the conservative and libertarian organization The Heartland Institute, wrote in聽.
One of the most outspoken critics of smoking bans is Audrey Silk, founder of the New York City-based Citizens Lobbying Against Smokers鈥� Harassment, or CLASH.聽
In , Ms. Silk, a former police officer, said that聽most smokers are informed adults exercising their right to make a decision about their personal health.
She also agreed with Mr. Bast's claims, saying that 鈥渁nyone who has done their homework knows that there is nothing legitimate about the science that [people behind anti-smoking campaigns] are producing to push their agenda.鈥�
鈥淚t is activist driven science,鈥� she said.
A study published last month in the British journal聽BioMed Central suggest that the numbers cited by smoking advocates like Bast and Silk might actually be too low:聽A study of more than 200,000 smokers in Australia published last month concluded that聽up to two-thirds of deaths in current smokers聽.
And according to a聽, some 2.5 million nonsmokers in the United States have died from exposure to secondhand smoke in the preceding five decades.
Banzhaf notes, too, that the constitutional right to smoke . He adds that in the city of Burbank, Calif., , including sidewalks, with the exception of designated smoking areas.
In 2013, one resident smoker filed a lawsuit against the city of Clayton, Mo., after officials passed an ordinance that banned smoking in city buildings, parks, and playgrounds on the grounds of public health and safety, litter reduction, and preserving the aesthetics of city property, the 聽Monitor reported.
The plaintiff argued that the ban violated his right to light up in a public area, but a federal court rejected the suit, saying, 鈥淲e decline [the] invitation to declare smoking a fundamental right.鈥�
More recently, the state of New York also upheld a smoking ban in state parks, which had been overturned by a lower court, .
鈥淎ttitudes have changed,鈥� Banzhaf says, 鈥渁nd they have changed rather dramatically.鈥�
