Non-smokers’ rights advocates in Prince Edward Island are currently pushing for more smoke-free apartment buildings in the province. I agree whole-heartedly with their agenda and truly hope their actions will influence landlords and building owners in Halifax. As a non-smoker living in an apartment building in Halifax that allows smoking indoors, I am constantly breathing in the cigarette smoke of my neighbours and am seriously concerned about how it is impacting my health. I frequently experience burning eyes and sinuses as well as a raw, sore throat and occasional bouts of coughing. This only occurs when I am at home with cigarette smoke flowing into my apartment from every direction. This is my home. It does not seem fair for me, a non-smoker, to have to breathe in second-hand smoke in my own living space. In addition to the health concerns, it frustrates me that my clothing, bedding, towels, etc always reek of smoke and it embarrasses me when company comes over and despite every effort to eliminate the smell (scented candles, Febreeze, Glade Plug-ins, you name it!), the air in my apartment is always stale and smoky.
We know the dangers of smoking and particularly, the dangers of second-hand smoke. That’s why people are no longer allowed to smoke in public places or even within certain distances of public places. So why am I being protected from the harms of second-hand smoke when I’m at a bar, for example, but not when I’m in my own home?
Now, before the smokers on here start bashing me, let me just say that I understand both sides of the issue. If you are a smoker, I am not trying to discriminate against you. That is not my intention at all. You also have rights in your own home. I understand what a pain in the butt it would be to have policies that would force you to have to leave the comfort and warmth of your own apartment to go outside and brave the elements every time you need a cigarette. I also understand how frustrating it would be for you if there were laws that said you could only live in certain buildings that allow smoking.
I just strongly feel that there needs to be more living options in this city for non-smokers. We need more apartment buildings that have a firm stance on being smoke-free. We have plenty of buildings that cater to the smokers. But what about the non-smokers?
We have a right to live comfortably in our own homes. We have a right to clean air. We have a right to good health. Agreed? —Black Lung
This article appears in Dec 9-15, 2010.
Did you know that is was a smoking-allowed building when you moved in?
Suck it up (coff *hack wheeze) or find yourself a nice non-smoking apartment elsewhere.
All the apartments I’ve been in have been smoke-free. I think you maybe need to look elsewhere for a smoke-free building. Also, what Hugo said.
The chemicals in that shit you use to try to get rid of the smoke smells is also very, very bad for you… Just so’s ya know.
Yep, if I didn’t like cig smoke, I would definitely look at the building policies before I moved in. Same as parking policies, and pets, smoking is right up there on “need to know”.
How does smoke even get that bad inside your apartment that it stinks up your towels?? Are your walls made of mesh webbing or something???
As a light smoker (4-6 per day) who only smokes outdoors, I agree with this bitch wholeheartedly. I despise indoor and second hand smoke. I also have a child i don’t want to expose my poisonous habit to. To smoke inside is to ruin the value of my home and everything in it..therefore i smoke only on my patio.
I think you are ridiculous and think you are completely over-reacting. I am a non smoker too but find it hard to believe that your neighbours smoking comes in from every direction and makes you clothes, bedding, towels etc… smell. I live in a smoking building and have no problem with any of them. It doesn’t come in my windows or under my door. Perhaps you should find a new building and inquire as to weather they allow smoking. It seems to me someone like you would be just as pissed off to go outside and see someone smoking.
They could have a really poor air circulation system. Maybe little to no ventilation or air exchange happening. I used to live in an old house and the heating vents were all somehow connected with the folks upstairs… the weed they consumed was overpowering at times!
Bahaha I’d rather be overpowered by the smell of weed than by the smell of tobacco, even though I smoke neither.
Yep, I’ll take the weed stink anyway over tobacco. Thank goodness they didn’t smoke that crap up there. The old oil furnace would kick in and all you’d have to do is hang over a vent and you’d be good to go.
I did have to explain it to my mom when she dropped by for a visit one time. heh he.
Op I’m with everyone else. If you’re that sensitive to it you must have noticed the smell and the fact it wasn’t a non smoking building when you went to see the place before you signed the lease!?! Cmon now.
I was a smoker living in a flat in a smoking-permitted apartment house. The whole building shared forced air heating. That means you notice when a neighbour dices onions, or the chili they had for lunch isn’t areeing with them. I eventually found the odors of shared living space, especially all the ciggy and reefer smoke, so stunningly gawd-aweful offensive that I bought my own place, moved into it and quit smoking.
My building’s going smoke free gradually. The air exchanger was broken in the hallway on my end of the building and it was sickening walking down the hallway until they fixed it. Anyway, the super said that new tenants are not being allowed to smoke in their units, but current smokers still can. It’s just a matter of waiting for them and their filthy disgusting habit to move out.
eat a fat cock pretty kitty on your self righteous mouth and your self righteous comments.
Whoaaaaa calling a disgusting filthy habit for what it is is self righteous? HAHA. OK, THEN.
Smoking can cause: yellow teeth, yellow fingers, cancer, COPD, and generally makes everything it gets into (clothes, carpets, etc…) smell AWFUL…yeah, that sure is a clean, healthy habit!
You fucking prick.
Unfortunately lung cancer doesn’t act fast enough. If people saw smokers croaking left, right, and centre, then they might think twice before picking up for a puff.
*ahem* youse been told mr. sanzibar. And I’m with PK on this one. You go girl.
As an occasional smoker, I’ll be fucked if I’m gonna leave my fishin’ shack (with its lobster claw carpeting)to pay $1000-$1500 a month for some apartment where I can’t smoke. No matter how annoying or irritating, smoking still is legal.
As for you, Neville, keep your shit in your mouth where it fucking belongs. There is no need of that kind of explosive verbal excrement. PK is perfectly entitled to her opinion and there’s no way she deserved that underbelly level of abuse.
hey, you want smoke free building… sure, go out and bid on them and when you buy the building, you can implement thong thursdays for all we care.
you’re renting the place and abide by the agreement drawn up.
you shouldn’t have signed if it was going to bother you this much.
As long as people are in their ‘own homes’ they should be able to do as they wish…if chili & beer is what you want to eat 3 meals a day & the odour that will come from that…fine.
IF you wish to smoke in your own home… I see no problem with that either…& I am an ex-smoker.
They are people & deserve the same rights as anyone else.
THe Gov. IMO was 150% WRONG when they removed smoking rooms from bars. Now these people are out on the street, in doorways, alleyways on the sidewalks ,bus stops etc.
They were perfectly FINE WHERE THEY WERE, but you asshole nonsmoking idiots have created this problem, a problem that wasn’t anywhere near as prevalent as it is now.
IT looks good on you all, suck it up literally, you deserve it.
Thanks, guys 🙂
I respect the fact that people can choose to smoke if they want — it’s just not for me — I work for a health related organization at the moment and the number of people out there who I deal with who can hardly breathe or are dying because they smoked is enough to keep me away from the smokes.
I agree with More and zZz too — I just like the fact that the new tenants are being told no smokin’ allowed in units. Hallways’ll smell a lot nicer when the chain smokers on my end of my floor are gone and not replaced 🙂
My tip stands: check out the policies in the building you’re moving into FFS – landlords have the right to dictate to tenants on their properties, but gov’ts shouldn’t be allowed to dictate. There are smoke free places. Look for them.
Wow, Kitty, totally understand your perspective now – I’ve always been a ‘light’ smoker although they’ll tell you nowadays even that’s too much – well, I say moderation in all things ’cause you could do it all right and still get hit by a speeding bus.
you are not allowed to smoke in my house-but there is a lovely yard and backporch for everyone’s out of door activities…yeehaw
Well, TTFN I also work with patients who have obesity-related illnesses too…this afternoon I dealt with a patient who was over 700lbs. And there are A LOT of uncontrolled diabetics who have complications. The health care dollars spend on diabetes related complications due to an inability to keep your sugars normal is astounding (diabetics eating shittily and not taking their meds, and diabetics not being able to AFFORD their meds are to blame — it’s not one or the other exclusively). But I guess that’s a whole other bitch and I guess one’s as bad as the other.
Our apartment has sucky vents that bring us smoke-filled air in the bathroom and the kitchen, but we have air cleaner that works great. If every apartment could have smoke-free floors just like in hotels, wouldn’t that be nice?
Wow OP, thanks for pointing out that clause in the constitution that guarantees you clean air. I must have been skimming the first time I read it.
There are lots of products out there such as air purifiers, de-ionizers and charcoal filters that take all polutants and scents from the air. But I’m sure you know that because as someone bothered by smoke you probably spent hours on the internet researching how to avoid the smell. I agree that smoke can be offensive, but if you don’t like it don’t live in an apartment building with smokers. There are lots of apartments that are not in buildings, and have their own entrances. But I’m sure you exhausted all of these options as well. People also have the right to enjoy anything that is legal, especially in their own homes and right now there is nothing you can do about it.
here we go with another crackpot non smoker. now not all of them are bad, just the fucking assholes trying to tell me how to run my life. if i want to smoke, then fuck you.if you choose not to, then fine and dandy, just don’t try to become a smoke nazi to the rest of the world. you know what generally happens to dictators o.p.
It is a lofty dream OP, and there are 2 ways to accomplish it as I see it. One would be to invest in apartment buildings to call your own. If this isn’t feasible, gather your friends and get to lobbying the apartment owners, let them know you want smoke free buildings and you’re willing (in theory) to put your money where the smoke is…not.
As a long time reader, first time poster, a few things to share. First of all, to Life Sucks, SH is the Devil and TTFN: I effing love you all. Second, because that had nothing to do with the OP I’m likely to get harassed. It’s okay, I’m half snapped on a Tuesday, nothing can get me down. Third, I’m not sure who I agree with because, like I said, I’m half snapped. But whoever said something about knowing about what is and what isn’t acceptable in an apartment building when moving into that building is spot on. As a tenant you have rights and responsibilities. You should know what’s what before you sign on the dotted line.
HEY SNAP, WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF WEIRD. glad you could pop in on us, yeah, we are weird, but like hey, that’s what make us all unique in some crazy fucking way. ttfn is the resident comedian,ivan is the braniac, i’ of course am the horn dg, and s.h. is well, s.h.,all the rest are fucked up to. the ladies here are decent people, but can get real bitchy in a flash. again i say welcome, and keep coming back, if only for the comedy.
Back in BC, we used to live in a non-smoking building, but we smelled pot from time to time from the hallways and cigarettes from our open windows during hot summer months. It didn’t help that we lived on the west facing side of the building…scorching hot summer nights with smoking neighbours were hell for lung-condition prone people like us. We had to close windows (and no, we could not afford A/C’s) and turn on our air purifier max speed. It was near impossible to pinpoint where the smoke was coming from, and even though our building manager tried to catch them and stop them from smoking whatever, people still smoked. 🙁
So I feel a bit disappointed by heartless comments like “just move to a smoke-free apartment” or “smokers have the right to do whatever they please.” I would love someone to invent cigarettes that do not produce as much smoke! If smokers have the right to behave as they please, why do non-smokers have to adjust their behaviour by moving and buying air purifiers just to accommodate smokers? Last I checked, smokers’ rights weren’t written in the constitution either. :p
I guess I’m lucky that I can’t really smell cigarette smoke when I’m in my apartment (the hallway is a different story). I know I would be annoyed if it seeped into my apartment and I would definitely make sure to find a non-smoking building next time.
My mom bought some of those electronic cigarettes recently and when she’s smoking them, I can’t smell them and all that is breathed out is water vapor, I think. Really cool.
Op I gotta say, you should have looked for a non-smoking apartment. There are many out there. My building is half and half, and they are separated by doors and a small hallway. You can definitely tell the difference when you walk from one side to the other. I am a non-smoker and have asthma, so I specifically looked for a non-smoking building – and I have found one fairly easily each time I went apartment hunting.
do you all want a really good laugh? i just got one of those tobacco free ecigarette thing the other day. now just yesterday, in the pouring fucking rain, i’m waiting for a bus see. this idiot comes along, stands about a foot away, gives me a fucking dirty look, and then says,”do you mind putting that out, i’m allergic to cigarette smoke”. i almost laughed in her face, and you want to see someone haul the fuck back away in a hurry. when i explained to her, that i was using a non cigarette. that it was just water vapor that she was seeing, and there is no smell at all. the 8-10 people there all had a good belly laugh at this stupid bitch. and i hope next time, she will get a good faceful of real smoke, from someone.
those esmokes are real cool, you can use them anywhere, and i do mean anywhere. even in a cop shop. and there isn’t one damn thing they can do to you. fuck. i love them. takes the cravings away too. and a lot healthier for you to boot. let the good times roll. oh, and you can get the flavoured liquid inserts for them too.
That’s beautiful Lifer. Shoulda filmed it for U-Toob.
I agree a lot with the OP…I could have written this bitch! I live in the attic of a house that was made in the 30s, aka my place smells like smoke and Indian food and my clothes and blankets do smell spicy, not yet like smoke though. I’ve had breathing problems for a lot of my life. I don’t have asthma I just get pretty bad coughs once in a while and get sore throats what seems like a billion times a year. I was looking at air purifiers but I don’t see why I should have to spend money on something to accomodate the choices of others. When I came to look at the apartment I didn’t notice the smell as it seems to be not really there during most of the day; the evening is when everyone likes to puff I guess. I was looking for 100% smoke free apartment buildings but only being 19 at the time, I didn’t have the funds to fork out for a new building in the South end and also because of my age and lack of credit, no one would rent to me. So I got this place near the commons and I do love the place except for the fact that I can’t always breath well in my own place. Lesson learned though, I guess I’ll go a couple days without eating so I can afford rent at a better place with smoking policies. This was my first time looking for a place and it was a horrible experience being young (having a co-signer doesn’t seem to matter anymore) and my apartment being filled with others’ smoke just didn’t occur to me during my search. Now I know ;D
Hey, Lifey, how much do the e-cigs cost and where can you get them?
…and are cannabis flavoured inserts on their menu?
My Mom paid about $10 or something for a disposable e-cigarette and I think they’re good for about 500 puffs. She bought my brother a starter kit that has a rechargeable one for about $50, I believe. They seem like a really great idea.
And also, I believe she just ordered them online… can’t remember what site it was, but she just did a google search for them.
I imagine you could jury-rig some sort of cannabis insert for one of those things. From my experience, stoners are excellent kludgers.
electric joints…and from there…nano technology!
http://www.cracked.com/article_16532_5-gre…
The op isn’t a psychic. I presume he/she can’t see into the future. I’m tired of how many smokers seem to be unrelenting. Saying oh get over it, blah blah blah. I’m not a smoker hater and ppl can do whatever they want but one must realize the world doesn’t move to your tune and it never will. Same goes for you op. This may be a battle you’ll have to lose …
Ugh and this whole, we have a right to this we have a right to that. Human rights, that right this right. Oh f off you over privileged bell-ends (including myself). It isn’t specifically to the op … but that’s a different bitch.
“Bell-end” – good word! >: )
That is hilarious and informative, thank you orgasmdude. Just killed 6 minutes of work life. Weeeeee!
http://www.smokeinstead.ca/
In Canada, as of March 2009, imports, sales, and advertising of Nicotine containing electronic cigarettes are banned, otherwise non nicotine containing products are legal and allowed for sale and advertising. In March 2009, Health Canada also advised Canadians not to purchase or use any electronic smoking products. Health Canada cited the Food and Drugs Act, stating that electronic smoking products containing nicotine require market authorization before they can be imported, marketed, or sold. No market authorization has been granted for any electronic smoking product.[16]
I sort-of agree with the OP. I agree with PK. I agree with everyone having their right. I don’t think smokers should smoke in a public place around non smokers…as everyone should respect everyone’s space and right to clean air…..but in the comfort of your own apartment is different. I use to smoke before the bun and I never ever smoked in my apt…ever. My building was smoking but luckily I was surrounded by non smokers and really never smelt smoke anywhere in my building. Now my dad’s apt I thought was non-smoking until the new people moved in across the hall and is all you can smell is smoke. It’s a little gross … and the buildings only 4 years old… shouldn’t it be non-smoking?
Only 6 minutes? I’m impressed. Usually when I go on Cracked I end up spending the rest of the day on there reading random stuff.
Well, I stuck to that particular article, but I’ve filed it away in file P. The glorious “Procrastination” file.
You have the right to move, buy your own home, as well as the right to buy an air purifier.
All these clean air fuckers never say anything about the giant NSP smoke stacks.
the reason canada government bans shit like that zzz, is because they don’t collect tax dollars from every person using them. they only get a small sales tax, and not the mega bucks from the tobacco sales.
and the bigg companies don’t want them around either. can’t sell their shit if you aren’t smoking it. it all boils down to greed on their parts.
i’m going to try for a francise on these things, and they are decent. no smell except for the one you fart out your ass.
doctors should avail these to the public in the no smoking programs that capital health has going on, from time to time. i was in one a couple years ago. they gave us gum, patches, and lozenges. and yes, even nicotine free smokes. but that doesn’t always do it. smoking is more habit than anything. if you can block inhibiters in brain,then you can quit.hey, at least i’m trying guys.
Go find an apartment in a building that is smoke free. They do exist you lazy retard.