Calif. Town Bans Smoking Almost Everywhere

March 17, 2006 — -- Jessica Simpson and her soon-to-be ex-husband, Nick Lachey, made Calabasas, Calif., semifamous when they moved there and shot their hit MTV show "Newlyweds" there. Now, the town is infamous for banning smoking.

"There's a whole lot of things that's a lot more worse than smoking," said smoker Darrel Wycoff. "I just think smokers are being discriminated against."

Gino Belson just moved to Calabasas last Tuesday and, because of the restrictions on smoking, he's thinking about moving again.

"To be outdoors and to be able to enjoy yourself and choose to smoke a cigarette or a cigar," said Belson, a longtime smoker. "It's your God-given right if you want to choose to kill yourself."

Last month, the state of California labeled secondhand smoke a toxic air contaminant just like car exhaust or industrial emissions. With secondhand smoke blamed for 44,000 deaths nationwide every year, Calabasas Mayor Barry Groveman says most people support the new law.

"I think in time this will be very mainstream, just like you see in restaurants, airplanes and bars," he said.

Smoking will be illegal on sidewalks, public parks, and on all outdoor patios.

One place people can smoke in Calabasas is called smokers outpost, but for the most part, smokers are pushed to the margins of society.

"Smokers have interests," Groveman said. "People who breathe clean air have rights."