In Belmont, Calif., there may be fewer places where it is legal to smoke than not: smoking is banned from public sidewalks, apartment buildings and parks as well as public indoor spaces and other, more typical places.

The AFP reported Oct. 30 that not everyone is happy with Belmont's tough antismoking laws, which also prohibit lighting up in outdoor restaurants, doorways, and construction sites. Violators face up to $1,000 in fines.

"I've got the right to smoke my cigarette so long as I'm not blowing it in my neighbor's front door, right?" said Jesse Bruner, a Belmont tattoo artist. "But now they tell me that I've got to go out in the middle of the street."

"Legislators should not have the power to go into your homes and restrict you," said Bill Dickenson, a city council member who has opposed some smoking regulations. "What's next, should I not be allowed to wear blue jeans on Fridays?"

Technically, it is legal in Belmont to smoke a cigarette while walking down the street. But that is rendered nearly moot by a prohibition against smoking within 20 feet of any doorway or window.

Belmont's ban on smoking in apartment complexes has raised hackles among smokers who face eviction if they light up in their own homes. But others see the law as a model for the nation.

"There is no risk-free exposure to secondhand smoke and it is a health hazard both indoors and outdoors," said Paul Knepprath of the American Lung Association of California. "Complaints about drifting smoke in multiunit apartment buildings are some of our most common calls. This is a landmark decision for public health."