76‑Year‑Old Mobility‑Impaired Tampere Woman Forced to Smoke in Her Car After Balcony Ban
A Tampere woman with limited mobility says a new ban on smoking on apartment balconies has forced her to smoke in her car, and she has no intention of quitting.
Korhonen, 76, says the ban, which came into force at the start of October, has forced her to smoke in her car because she can no longer light up on her balcony. She says the law narrows a kind of personal freedom her generation grew up with. She has no intention of giving up smoking.
"I've lived through a time when people had freedom," Korhonen said, describing how the restriction complicates her daily routine.
The policy has sparked tensions as authorities aim to limit secondhand smoke in shared housing areas while some residents, particularly older adults with limited mobility, struggle to adapt.
Tamperelainen previously sought tenants to interview about how the change has affected them in its Oct. 1 call for interviewees, and the ban was announced nationally in late September in the national announcement.
Earlier coverage
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