No Smoking: Real Breathing Space

USA TODAY reporter Wend Koch writes that "Lawmakers in two California cities are casting votes this month on unprecedented legislation that would widen a growing voluntary movement by landlords and resident associations to ban smoking inside apartments and condos."

"Tens of thousands of apartments and condos have gone smoke-free in the past five years, management companies and health activists say."

Percentage of the U.S. adult population who smoke based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention :
• 1965: 42.4%
• 1970: 37.4%
• 1974: 37.1%
• 1980: 33.2%
• 1985: 30.1%
• 1990: 25.5%
• 1995: 24.7%
• 2001: 22.8%
• 2004: 20.9%