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How do infants avoid secondhand smoke?
"At some point they begin
to crawl."
-- Tobacco Executive 1996
| Author | Message |
|---|---|
| Kirk B., Lahaina, HI |
Harmful Secondhand Smoke in my Home!I live in a really nice condo that is run like a hotel. Unfortunately, the lanai's are considered "public areas" and the constant turn over in tourists means that about half the time people are on the balcony below us smoking like chimneys. I'm smoke hypersensitive. I've bought fans and expensive air purifiers but it only mitigates the situation a little. I've tried to get the Homeowners Association to help and they've completely blown me off. I've also tried to work with the rental company management and they don't provide any assistance either. I wrote the actual homeowner of the unit below us but all they care about is the income they derive. I feel like I've been beating my head against a brick wall for almost seven years now. I've tried being incredibly nice, and I've tried writing letters and threatening to obtain a lawyer. I've lost lots of sleep and it's caused huge problems with my wife and I. I've had verbal confrontations that have gotten ugly at times with the hundreds of smokers who have come and gone. I'd like to sell and move but at this point what I really want to do is find an attorney. The research is overwhelming; secondhand smoke is a killer. The covenants of my condo insure that I can "enjoy the quiet and peaceable habitation" of my unit and it's just not happening. I don't understand; if I can't spray paint noxious fumes, barbeque, or make noise on my balcony, why can other people fill my living room and bedroom with their secondhand smoke at all hours of the day and night? |
| Lee Y., Honolulu, HI | Harmful second hand smoke at the bus stop tooHave you tried sitting and waiting for a bus recently? There's som many smokers - Its disgusting. |
| p.m., kapolei, hi | my right to breathe clean air is constantly violateven though many of the buildings I frequent are "non-smoking", the congregation of smokers just outside the entrances create horrid conditions which everyone has to pass through to get to where they're going. Not only is it disgusting that I have to walk through the smoke cloud, but I end up reeking of smoke. My right to breathe clean air is constantly violated. |
| Mei Jan, Honolulu, HI | Trapped in my own apartmentMy husband and I totally empathize with Kirk from Lahaina. We just moved into our brand-new first-home starter apartment in downtown Honolulu. We love living on a high floor overlooking the beautiful Ko'olau mountains. The only thing we HATE is that the apartment below us is occupied by smokers. If we leave the windows open during the day when we are gone, we return home to an apartment stinking of smoke...visitors would think WE smoke, if they walked in! It stinks up our carpet and our furniture. At night we lay in bed and can hear our neighbor downstairs open his lanai door to stand outside and smoke. The smoke drifts up into our bedroom and gags me! What can we do? Are all non-smoking apartment dwellers resigned to this predicament? My husband says he feels trapped in our own home, having to close the windows and turn on the fan. We have a right to enjoy our own home right? |