how can smoke from one cigarette climb 2 stories into my entire condo...

[chicago]

it's making me sick... literally... and I'm wondering if I can call the Board and ask them to do something.

The woman on the 1st floor smokes on her balcony... obviously to not infect "HER" home with her smoke. The problem is, her cigarette smoke is infecting "MY" home... rising to my 3rd floor condo and into my kitchen and living room and completely stinks up my home and the smell and inhalation of that smoke makes me sick :( I have to get up all the time and shut my door out to my balcony and/or shut my windows :(. I have my balcony door open all the time so the cat can come and go... and I am constantly getting up to shut it when I smell that stinky crap!!

IL now has a regulation you must be at least 15ft from a public entrance when smoking. I wonder if this would apply to my condo building at all.

I really don't care that she smokes, I just care that it's affecting my life... my health and my cat's health and he is always out there when she starts to smoke... and I drag him in and then slam the door!!.......... arrrgh, I hate it! I thought of buying a big fan and putting it on on the balcony blowing "outward" so when the smoke comes up it will blow "away". I bet the Board will listen then ;)... as they are very picky as to what we have on our balcony's ;)

Smoking stinks!!... literally!

[lph]

I'm very sensitive to cigarette smoke so I know how you feel, but she may have no idea at all that it's a problem for you. How about assuming that she doesn't know, telling her gently that it's a problem, and asking if there's any way she could smoke further away from the building?

My dh's aunt and uncle smoke like chimneys (even though he has had multiple health problems including heart disease greatly aggravated by smoking :mad: and SHE WOULDN'T EVEN QUIT WHEN HE TRIED TO) but they have no idea that they reek of smoke at all times. I stayed at their house once and we slept in a so-called "smoke-free" guest room. I had trouble breathing and came home with a sore throat that lasted a week.

[tulip]

I'm sensitive to cigarette smoke. When I lived in an apartment last year, my bedroom window was just above an entrance. People would go out there to smoke (and talk loudly and generally bug me). There wasn't anything I could do about it, since the management did not have any rules about smoking outside the building (so I moved). Maybe you could talk to her. She probably has no idea that it goes into your condo. Maybe it would spark her to quit! At the very least, perhaps she could put a fan on her balcony and to push the smoke farther out before it drifts up.

[Aggie_Ama]

I am also sensitive to cigarette smoke. I get downright hostile if I am at a light and the person in front or beside me is smoking. Half the time I have my windows open but the other half I have the AC on and it pulls it in. It is so darn hot here you can't wait through the light without AC. My neighbors smoke and when the wind blows right I can smell it when I am in my front yard. It completely grosses me out because I am across the street and the smell travels, but not the coughing/burning eyes I normally get thankfully. My brother smokes and I find it embarrassing for him. He smells bad and just wastes so much money on it. I am really snobby about smokers and will admit I look down on them for smoking. I try to keep that a hidden bias when they are family or friends but most of my family knows I am very anti-smoking.

I would call the Condo board, what could it hurt? Might help?

[Flur]

This happens to me too - the guy that lives below us is practically a chain smoker and lights up on the front porch 2-3 times an hour. DH likes to keep the window over the porch open, but I close it when I smell the smoke. There's nothing we can do as he's the landlord.

In the winter he flicks his butts off the porch and leaves them, so that in the spring when the snow melts they're all there, on the front steps and the lawn, and all over the sidewalk. It's absolutely disgusting.

[wackyjacky1]

I am really snobby about smokers and will admit I look down on them for smoking.

LOL, I'm the same way. I can't help but think that people who smoke are a bit trashy (that includes my mother :rolleyes: ).

chicago, I bet the woman doesn't have a clue that the smoke is traveling all the way to your 3rd floor balcony. I would suggest talking to her, and if that doesn't work, yes, buy a fan for your balcony to blow the smoke away. Smokers can be really touchy about their habit, so I would try to approach her in a very gentle, friendly way.

Good luck!

[Biciclista]

smoke rises?

I know my neighbor is home when i smell his cigarettes. we are not so close that it is too gross, and he's a good guy, so it doesn't bother me. If we were directly above him, it might be awful though. Maybe a fan at the offending window?

[teigyr]

Chicago,

Also, you could probably check into your state laws regarding smoke and residences. Sometimes companies (or your condo board) need to see what the law is. That and enforcing it can be unpleasant so they need to know the exact law and how the violation of it is affecting you.

I think some people care if their smoke bothers people but others don't. What I don't get is if it's a such a good habit (like how it should be ok to smoke in public places) why do they hang their hand outside their car when they are stopped at a light? Why don't THEY breathe in their stinky smoke air?!

I work at an airport and the people who work in baggage claim have it really bad. Nobody abides by the 15' from the door when smoking rule. People get off their planes and go outside to smoke before getting their bags. The air blows RIGHT back in and it gets disgusting in there.

I am so glad to see there are people around like me :D If I'm around smoke, I am coughing up nasty stuff for days. It's a habit that affects other people than just the one partaking in it and I am SO happy that the restaurants and bars are smoke free now.

[kenyonchris]

UGH. My mom smokes, so I was used to it when I was growing up...now I am offended by people who smoke...as a police officer I always ask people to put their cigarette out when I walk up to their car. I always ask nicely, no need to be rude, but a lot of times they get irritated (I thank them for putting it out when they do, but if they throw the butt out the window I either ask them to pick it up ... if they are courteous...if they refuse I write them for illegal dumping).
As far as I am concerned, a person's right to smoke ends where my lungs begin. Blech.
No apartment/condo living for me for that reason. BUT (also having refereed many a dispute) try to address the neighbor as courteously as possible (maybe bring her a plant or something) and see if they will put a fan on THEIR porch to help blow it out rather than up??