Smokers have been banned from smoking near buildings, shunned at parks and beaches, and restricted in many other ways. But there is an unlikely place where officials have not been able to snuff out cigarettes — public medical facilities. A little-known 1982 state law requires skilled-nursing facilities — such as the San Mateo County-run Burlingame Long-Term Care center and Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco — to provide “designated areas for smoking.” Read More