wonderboy416
Active Member
ACE, I completely agree. It's pretty obvious who's a smoker here conveying a typical smokers attitude.
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Smoking ban urged for Peel condos and apartments
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ACE, I completely agree. It's pretty obvious who's a smoker here conveying a typical smokers attitude.
PukeGreen
Active Member
I am watching this with great interest, as we have problems in our condo where second hand smoke seeps from neighbouring units and it can be nearly intolerable. It comes in through the AC/heat ventilation, from holes in walls around pipes and wiring, etc. I've spray-foamed every crack in our place. We've gone through two air purifiers (they help a bit but not much, and lose effectiveness after 6 months or so) and complained to the condo board, who sympathize but say their hands are tied. There's not much else I can do. Even when I open the window during nice weather the nearby smoking unit apparently does the same, because smoke drifts in through the window, too.
The smell is strong. It burns my eyes. My wife has serious allergies to almost everything under the sun including dust, and the smoke aggravates them. We spend $300 several times a year for allergy shots. We removed all broadloom, we sealed our mattress in an expensive anti-mite/allergen cover, we don't don't have a cat even though we both would like to, all because of her allergies. Now these sacrifices are being undone by a selfish neighbour.
This is our HOME. We work hard to pay a mortgage, and we have invested tens of thousands of dollars in renovations into it. But in the blink of an eye a single neighbour can move in nearby and degrade our quality of life drastically. Walking down the hall, I know that there are precisely two smokers on out entire floor of about 24 units. How do I know? The smell outside the doors. A non-smoker can pick that up easily.
How many other units do these few smokers infiltrate with the smell? Why should the rights of a tiny minority of residents overpower those of the vast majority of non-smoking units? Why is it up to me to try to spend time and money trying to seal my unit, rather than the responsibility of smokers to seal theirs? Why am I protected by law from cigarette smoke when I'm in a public place or at work, but not in my own home?
The same old tired arguments of smokers with their "totalitarianism" and "rights" complaints infuriate me. This is not a minor inconvenience, like the odours of a neighbour cooking, which are short-term and harmless. Smoking is a known carcinogen, and exposures to small amounts over long periods of time is shown to cause cancer. All I ask is to be healthy and comfortable in my own home. Now, I'm pretty sure that is my right.
The smell is strong. It burns my eyes. My wife has serious allergies to almost everything under the sun including dust, and the smoke aggravates them. We spend $300 several times a year for allergy shots. We removed all broadloom, we sealed our mattress in an expensive anti-mite/allergen cover, we don't don't have a cat even though we both would like to, all because of her allergies. Now these sacrifices are being undone by a selfish neighbour.
This is our HOME. We work hard to pay a mortgage, and we have invested tens of thousands of dollars in renovations into it. But in the blink of an eye a single neighbour can move in nearby and degrade our quality of life drastically. Walking down the hall, I know that there are precisely two smokers on out entire floor of about 24 units. How do I know? The smell outside the doors. A non-smoker can pick that up easily.
How many other units do these few smokers infiltrate with the smell? Why should the rights of a tiny minority of residents overpower those of the vast majority of non-smoking units? Why is it up to me to try to spend time and money trying to seal my unit, rather than the responsibility of smokers to seal theirs? Why am I protected by law from cigarette smoke when I'm in a public place or at work, but not in my own home?
The same old tired arguments of smokers with their "totalitarianism" and "rights" complaints infuriate me. This is not a minor inconvenience, like the odours of a neighbour cooking, which are short-term and harmless. Smoking is a known carcinogen, and exposures to small amounts over long periods of time is shown to cause cancer. All I ask is to be healthy and comfortable in my own home. Now, I'm pretty sure that is my right.
G
gabe
Guest
I can't stand the smell smoke i have bad allergies too, i have a buses and trucks roaring by my house all hours of the day with blowing smoke and toxic fumes into my house. We should ban those as well. If government is so worried about people's health why not just ban cigarettes, ban cars, ban alcohol since drunk drivers kill people too.
AGTO
Banned
You don't mind the toxic cooking smells though...you can't pick an choose.
nfitz
Superstar
Unless the natural gas is on, and unlit, or there is heavy smoke, I'm unsure why the smells of cooking would be toxic? Unless you stick your head into the oven ...
OttoSchloss
Active Member
Smoke doesn't bother me. I'm not allergic to it and can easily escape a smoke cloud if I wanted to.
Heavy perfume and scent are something else completely. The odors affect my lungs and often cause me to have an allergic reaction. It won't kill me but I wonder about the long term effects on my lungs. Or for an asthmatic?
Are we going to tell people to lay off the cologne? Or stop using those stupid plug in fragrances?
Doubtful.
The point is, there are a lot of things that irritate you when you live in a city. You can't nanny everything to death. If you are seriously afraid of second hand smoke (of which there has never been a definitely study of its effects on the non smoker) then you should also be terrified of car exhaust and probably just decamp to rural splendor.
Anyway, the law would be completely unenforceable. You'd need a warrant to enter someone's home or catch them in the act.
There are so many nanny staters around it's hard to keep track of what they'll think of next to feel progressive. This whole attitude of "I hate what you are doing now stop" really has to end before we turn into Singapore.
Heavy perfume and scent are something else completely. The odors affect my lungs and often cause me to have an allergic reaction. It won't kill me but I wonder about the long term effects on my lungs. Or for an asthmatic?
Are we going to tell people to lay off the cologne? Or stop using those stupid plug in fragrances?
Doubtful.
The point is, there are a lot of things that irritate you when you live in a city. You can't nanny everything to death. If you are seriously afraid of second hand smoke (of which there has never been a definitely study of its effects on the non smoker) then you should also be terrified of car exhaust and probably just decamp to rural splendor.
Anyway, the law would be completely unenforceable. You'd need a warrant to enter someone's home or catch them in the act.
There are so many nanny staters around it's hard to keep track of what they'll think of next to feel progressive. This whole attitude of "I hate what you are doing now stop" really has to end before we turn into Singapore.
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nfitz
Superstar
Landlord can enter on 24-hours notice ... the odour would be enough ... even if no one has smoked in a month or two. (which should be obvious, but I'm constantly surprised by how little many smokers seem to be aware of just how much and their houses smell!
Not that I think that this is enforceable, or sensible. Perhaps the laws should be tweaked to allow landlords to designate buildings as no-smoking, and let them evict if they want to based on that. But I can't imagine a general by-law would be effective.
GraphicMatt
Looking forward to a FRESH START for Toronto
The logical next step in smoking bans is to target restaurant patios. I'd be all for that. Too many times this summer I got stuck on a patio next to a bunch of smokers and it made things kind of suck.
Dilla
Senior Member
It's also obvious who's conveying a high handed, holier than thou health nut attitude.
nfitz
Superstar
I'd be interested in targeting people standing outside of bars smoking. I'm tired of going down the sidewalk and having to dodge the foul-smelling cloud, especially when carrying a baby.
Banning combustion engines would also be nice ...
AGTO
Banned
Cooking some foods at high temperatures releases toxic substances.
No-one seems to be concerned with the byproducts of burning oil, I guess it's just easier to dogpile smokers.
Transportfan
Senior Member
At least somebody is making sense here.
Whoaccio
Senior Member
Why not just ban cigarettes? I mean, seriously. If you are going to ban people from smoking in their homes, ban them from smoking outdoors, ban them from smoking just about anywhere why not just be honest and ban smoking?
So much for "the state has no place in the bedroom..."
So much for "the state has no place in the bedroom..."
nfitz
Superstar
For the same reasons that it's dumb to ban alcohol, marijuana, and opium.
Whoaccio
Senior Member
If you effectively banned the use of those substances, keeping the sale licit wouldn't make much sense at all.
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