Michigan apartment complex bans all indoor smoking inside residences

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 20 (UPI) -- A resident of a Michigan apartment complex said he feels new rules banning smoking inside individual residences are discriminatory.

Jeff Ramsey, 50, who has lived at the Parkway Meadows apartment complex in Ann Arbor for 26 years, said he was shocked when notices were put up stating residents would no longer be able to smoke inside their units or within 25 feet of their buildings starting April 1, WWJ-TV, Detroit, reported Thursday.

"According to the newsletter, if we are caught smoking in our apartments, smokers will be issued a lease violation," Ramsey said in a letter. "So I could be facing eviction for something in which I have been doing in my apartment for the preceding 26 plus years without an issue."

Ramsey said his disability prevents him walking 25 feet from his apartment.

"Please believe me, I do realize the easy answer here is ... quit smoking. But the problem here is, I'm tired of being told how I can and/or cannot live my life by the government and/or corporate America, provided that what I'm doing is legal and tobacco usage is legal," he wrote.

"Parkway Meadows is forcing low-income individuals to make a decision -- quit smoking or be homeless, because the management staff knows everybody's monthly incomes and they know that the vast majority of the residents, including, me, can't afford to be evicted," Ramsey wrote.