Are Smokers People Too?

Are smokers people too?         

The Commonwealth has consistently said, "No." 

You should always be sympathetic to individuals struggling with addiction, including smokers. There are few places in the Commonwealth where they're welcome. Smokers can't smoke in restaurants. They can't smoke in work places or on most company property. And, sometimes they can't smoke in their own home.

Landlords in Massachusetts have been granted unusual power to fight smoking even at home:

• You can evict for smoking.
• You can charge smokers higher rent.
• You can withhold from a security deposit for post-smoking cleanup (be careful with security deposit law).

Do you remember in 2005, when Boston Housing Court even upheld an eviction of smokers who had been allowed to smoke by their lease? Here is the article archive:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/06/16/jury_finds_smoking_grounds_for_eviction/

The truth is, smokers are people too. So be kind to them if you have to give a smoker bad news about their application or their apartment