New smoking neighbor

We live in a townhouse development, and last week our new next-door neighbor moved in. We were friendly, but have not seen her much. However we smell her smoking, even when she smokes on her patio which is right next to ours. And she has two little dogs that bark. We have one dog who usually doesn't bark, but when they start, he may reply. This morning the neighbor dogs started barking at 6:30am, but our little guy kept his cool. Any suggestion how to approach this. They may be neighbors for a long time. non-smoking neighbor

Neighbors' second hand smoke

I own a condo in Pinole & 2 of my neighbors smoke (1 is a renter). My daughter has asthma & smoke is aggravating her health problems. I have talked to renter, owner & homeowners association to complain about secondhand smoke entering my unit through the air vents. Renter doesn't care, owner can't force renter to do anything, homeowners association said they need to confer with their lawyer & I can take tenants to small claims court if I want to. There's a no smoking ordinance in Pinole but I don't know how to take this further to get the people to stop smoking on their patios & in their units. Any advice? just want fresh air

Secondhand smoke in multi-unit housing can make people REALLY sick and result in long term health effects. I've seen it. It doesn't just ''dissipate''. Concerns about the rights of the smoker, as some people have cited in this thread, are very common. Smokers are not a protected class of people under the constitution or any other law in the U.S. The problem isn't the smoker, it's the smoke, which travels and is proven to cause a variety of health issues. Smokers can live anywhere (they are not discriminated against) but they can't smoke in non-smoking areas, which in some places includes individual units. People deal with it.

My analogy for people concerned about the govt telling people what they can and can't do in their own house is this: you can get as hammered as you want in your own house. You can even drink yourself to death in your own house if you want to. But if that behavior affects other people (you get really noisy, you get violent, you get behind the wheel of a car), then the government has the authority to step in and make you stop the behavior that is having an impact on others. Same thing with secondhand smoke. It's a public health issue, and a real one at that. Anonymous

Second Hand Smoke in Condominium

Any advice on how to deal with second hand smoke in a condo or apartment setting? I am expecting my first child soon. My neighbor smokes like a chimney and often it comes through one of the shared walls in my condo. This happens at least once a day. I have approached the neighbor twice, have talked to my HOA, and both have been extremely uncooperative. I took steps to seal open vents and outlets, and bought two very high-end air filters. However, I have determined that the smoke is actually seeping through the wall.

I have managed to avoid the smoke as much as possible by spending time in other rooms where the smoke does not enter, but I still smell it and am concerned about the health of my family and new baby. Are there any contractors anyone can recommend that can fix the obvious structural defect in the shared wall? Also has anyone managed to have a healthy child in an apt/condo where second hand smoke was an issue? Moving is not an option at this time. Thank you for any direction you can provide. Non-smoker but affected by smoke anyway

On the plus side, my husband grew up with parents who smoked. He does not have any health problems, except, perhaps for his somewhat hostile attitude toward smokers. -anon

Cigarette smoking condo neighbors

Help, help, help. I am a condo owner in Moraga. I have neighbors (from the old country) who don't know/don't care about the dangers of secondhand smoke. I have an almost 4 year old. The smell that comes into my unit is incredible. So many people say that they can't smell it, but it's making me insane. I was advised to try mediation first (there's just no way this would work!). Small claims court does not seem to be the answer either. This would be a civil issue. I would certainly represent myself. There really is no legal precendent for this. My condo rules have the expanded definition for nuisance -- beyond just noise, but they seem to think they can do whatever they want in their apt. Help??

Controlling stale tobacco smell from downstairs neighbors

My sister and brother-in-law have moved into an apartment in a duplex building. To their extreme dismay, they discovered after moving in that the downstairs tenants are heavy smokers who have lived there for 20 years. Can anyone recommend a product that will control the stale tobacco smell that permeates my sister's apartment, both the living areas and the closets? They are also looking into installing air purifiers for the apartment as well as for the inside staircase that they share with the downstairs tenants. Any recommendations? Thanks!