This may be a first of its kind. An already existing condo complex where people have lived and smoked for years has now banned smoking effective January 1st. Smoke 'em while you got 'em, folks.

It's happening in Plainsboro at Ravens Crest East at Princeton Meadows Condominium Association. There are 612 units of which 45% are owned and 55% are rentals. Either way, you will no longer be allowed to smoke inside your own home. An amendment to the master deed reads...

"Smoking of any kind, including but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, electronic cigarettes and vaporizers, is prohibited on all common elements and limited common elements. Commencing ninety (90) days following the effective date of this amendment, smoking shall be prohibited in all units. Any lease for a unit that is entered into after the effective date of this amendment shall include a clause prohibiting smoking in the unit, limited common elements and common elements. Any existing lease that is renewed after the effective date of this amendment shall include a clause prohibiting smoking in the unit."

Yes, even vapes.

There have been a few brand new condo complexes that opened in New Jersey with a ban on smoking from day 1. This may be the first time that an existing complex has banned smoking for everyone in their own homes and not grandfathered anyone in. The association even admits some may sell and move out. They don't care, saying there are only a limited number of smokers anyway.

I'm not a smoker. But I'm also not a fan of what they're doing here. To not grandfather in people who have been living there a long time is unfair. The association points out how condominiums have shared walls, and smells and carcinogens can seep in even through electrical outlets. But just like the smoker knew from the start that he was allowed to smoke there, the non-smokers who made Ravens Crest East their home knew living with common walls next to a smoker was a reality. To change it years after the fact is outrageous.

With all the smoking bans in parks and on beaches, workplaces and bars and restaurants, it's been looking more and more like the only place smokers might have left to smoke would be their own homes. If a condo complex can pull a stunt like this, who is to say whole townships won't eventually do the same thing through municipal ordinance and win in court against an inevitable challenge? I don't believe in smoking, but to stop a person from smoking in their own home where they've lived for years is wrong.

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