The city of Calabasas, Calif., has passed one of the nation's toughest antismoking laws, including restrictions on smoking in outdoor public spaces, the Los Angeles Times reported Jan. 21.

The city has banned smoking in outdoor public spaces when other people are present. Nonsmokers who ask smokers to put out their cigarettes but are refused can file a complaint with the city attorney's office.

"Everything is forbidden here," said Tal Genin, a smoker. "No skateboarding, no rollerblading; you can't swim in the lake. It's like 'The Truman Show': Everything looks really nice, but you can't live life."

Mayor Barry Groveman defended the law, saying he hoped it would prompt restaurants, malls, and other businesses with outdoor public spaces to create separate outdoor smoking "outposts."

"We are not trying to pit neighbor against neighbor," Groveman said. "We're trying to do this in the least punitive and least disruptive way. But we mean it. We hope that people who believe in their right to smoke equally believe in a person's right to breathe clean and healthy air."