Smoke-Free Alameda Blog: A Note about Second-Hand Smoke from a Condo Owner

I received the following email from an Alameda condo owner. She asked me to post it for her.

I am an owner of a condo in Alameda. Our collective behavior is governed by a series of agreements and expectations (CC&Rs). It seems to me that it would be a great idea if the City Council passes an ordinance banning smoking in apartments and condos because then our homeowners association would be inclined to add the regulations to our CC&R and the city's ordinance would give them some clout.

I have spoken with many of my fellow condo owners and even those who now are smokers agree that it is reasonable to request residents not smoke in their units.

Enforcement is another issue, and I must admit that I am reluctant to take a vocal stand on this issue of protection for all citizens from second-hand smoke, because as much as I am for a clean air community, I honor people's rights to do what they wish in their own homes. However, smoking in their home may be a personal choice, but it impacts others. 

I live on a floor where there are at least two smokers whose doors I must pass when I come off the elevator or up the stairs. The hallway is filled with smoke from one of the neighbors who I know smokes in her condo. The other one goes out on his deck to smoke. Now I know some might say that this is not OK either, as he is polluting the air. I am less concerned about this than the smoker who smokes inside of her unit, as the smell and fumes enter the common space and travel through the air ducts.

My mother lived with me for almost three years before she passed away of emphysema. She herself was a smoker for many years and although she gave up the habit it was too late. The damage had been done to her lungs. My concern was that every time we went outside she had to pass through the cloud of smoke that filled the hallway.

Now I am concerned for myself and my neighbors. I am old enough to have lived and survived in a household where both of my parents smoked. I knew I would never develop the habit. However, smokers were everywhere and now that we have regulations that forbid smoking in airplanes, elevators, offices, restaurants, theaters, banks and most public places, I realize that at one point I couldn't believe that it would be possible to restrict this and accomplish such a life saving practice. Now I believe we can have even more and most necessary impact on limiting and eventually eliminating all smoking from which we are susceptible to second-hand smoke. 

I strongly urge our representatives on the Council to approve an ordinance that would ban smoking in public and publicly affected spaces such as apartments and condos and prescribe enforcement steps to accompany it.