Exposure to second hand smoke is dangerous at best, and lethal at worst. Many people are subjected to second hand smoke exposure through unavoidable contact in rental living. In California there are a stipulations in rental agreements granting the lessee the right to quiet enjoyment, and habitability. The following content is derived from: http://www.tobacco.org/Resources/talc.html "Although there is no law prohibiting smoking in private residences, all California landlords owe a variety of duties to their tenants, including: (1) the implied warranty of habitability and (2) the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment. Under the implied warranty of habitability , which is part of all California residential agreements and leases, a landlord guarantees that the premises are and will remain habitable.5 Habitability is usually determined by the landlord's compliance with certain code requirements, such as maintaining proper heating and ventilation.6 However, California courts have not held that code compliance is the exclusive determinant of whether a breach has occurred.7 Therefore, it is possible that, under certain circumstances, a court might decide that a tenant's exposure to secondhand smoke violates the warranty of habitability. The implied covenant of quiet enjoyment protects the tenant's use and enjoyment of the premises for the purpose contemplated by the rental agreement. The landlord can violate the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment by acting or failing to act, such as failing to stop other tenants from making excessive noise. The question the courts would ask is whether the neighbors smoking substantially affects the tenants enjoyment of a material part of the premises. It is unclear how a California court would rule on this issue." With this petition I move to amend the definition of each of these terms to include second-hand smoke as reasonable cause to: A.) Request transfer of renter location to a smoke free apartment building where applicable. Or, B.) To allow tenant to serve 30 day notice when alternate, smoke-free living conditions are not available. This action will prompt California property managers and landlords to take action in protecting their non-smoking tenants (including children) and force them to better plan their rental communities. Help me protect my children from the constant draft of smoke blowing into their bedroom. We are bound by our lease to continue their second hand smoke exposure for almost one year from now. Do you seat your children next to smokers in restaurants? I don't, so why should they have to play, eat and sleep where deadly second-hand smoke invades, affecting children where they should be safe...in their own homes. The 2006 U.S. Surgeon General's Report, "The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Secondhand Smoke," has concluded that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke and that, on average, children are exposed to more secondhand smoke than adults. Children are significantly affected by secondhand smoke. Children's bodies are still developing, and exposure to the poisons in secondhand smoke puts them at risk of severe respiratory diseases and can hinder the growth of their lungs. Secondhand smoke is a known cause of low birth weight, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, middle ear infection, and other diseases. (http://www.no-smoke.org/getthefacts.php?id=13) How sad is it that Californian children would be more protected from smoke if they had the right to work! Think about that and sign this petition for change. Thank you.

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