Couple demands halt to neighbor's smoking

Akron Beacon Journal ^ | 1/23/04 | Phil Trexler

[mylife]

"My inconsiderate neigbor is sitting in front of a fire sipping cocoa on a cold winter night! The smoke bothers me! and Im allergic to chocolate and my joints hurt! WHaaaa! WHaaaa! WHaaaa!

[joyce11111]

(Suppose the guy's health really is affected by her smoking -- which is entirely likely. What's your answer then?)

The old busy body should move.

[angkor]

If I were the plaintiff, I'd rent one of these Ultra Fine Particle Counters and put the lie to these cranky, control-freak neighbors.

Then I'd sue them for harassment, filing a false claim with the court, and libel.

[MississippiMan]

Suppose the guy's health really is affected by her smoking -- which is entirely likely.

No, it's not even remotely likely. The notion that the miniscule amount of cigarette smoke that drifts to a next-door condominimum, OUTDOORS, is a health risk, is ludicrous. They may smell it, but the ability to smell something most certainly does not equate with it being harmful. What if the smoker cooks on his backyard grill and uses a lot of garlic? You can smell that too. Outlaw garlic? We should all be ashamed of ourselves for letting idiots take over our nation.

MM, non-smoker

[patton]

If you can't handle the risks associated with breathing, I suggest you stop.

[NittanyLion]

Suppose the guy's health really is affected by her smoking -- which is entirely likely. What's your answer then?

I'd suggest he move. Alternatively, he can approach the owner of this adjacent unit, buy it, and evict this lady. He can then stipulate in his next rental contract that only nonsmokers can rent the property.

Simple enough.

[Dudoight]

There is supposedly a new study saying second-hand smoke has no deleterious effects on others. I heard it on Fox, have yet seen the study, so can't be more specific. I think the smell of smoke is abhorrent...but question those who are 'allergic' or other wise compromised by the presence in open air outdoors. I think the smell is just plain offensive, but the health thing may be a crock. Just speculating.

[Wolfie]

I guess this is one of those situations I keep hearing about on FR, where the effects of one person's behavior aren't limited to that person alone, and must be regulated by the State.

[LisaMalia]

Yes, it is. Smokers seem to have this insane need to assert that it is their right to bother other people with their fumes. And in this particular case, the smoker seems to think that her right to smoke is more important that the (apparently real) harm it causes the neighbor.

If you *read* the article, you will see that this woman has bent over backwards to be a considerate smoker. She's not going into his home and smoking, and I don't think he owns the air around her home. My take on this thing is that he's a pervert, and probably a stalker.

[mylife]

agreed

[angkor]

Whoops

If I were the plaintiff defendant...

[SoftballMominVA]

About 5 years ago, my husband and I went on the Atkins diet. It was in the summer and he and I grilled hamburgers, steaks, pork chops, what have you, just about 7 nights a week. We lived in a townhouse with one neighbor--we were an end unit. The neighbor in the end unit across the yard-about 25 feet or so-actually called the local police to complain that we were stinking up her yard with our grill.

The police told her that there was nothing he could do because we were in our own yard and were violating no local ordinances.

She took to standing in her yard and YELLING at us every time we went out, whether we were grilling or not.

Thank goodness we moved about 6 months after this started, or I think she would have tried to sue us.

[saul goode]

If the guy's health is such that simple cigarette smoking by a resident of the adjoining apartment is a serious health risk, he shouldn't be living in an apartment/duplex. Some people have horrible allergy conditions and can't be around perfumes, detergents, etc. Do they have a right to move into an apartment complex and force their neighbors to stop wearing perfume or washing their clothes? It is not our right to have our whims catered to. I find smoking to be a disgusting habit, but I think that people who smoke should have the right to smoke on their own patio or in a bar if the owner allows smoking. Cigarettes are taxed to ridiculous extremes in order to penalize people for using a LEGAL product. There is no reason that this should be the case.

[r9etb]

Where is this person supposed to smoke?

Who says she has to smoke at all?

How much smoking can this guy be doing to be choking on it from outside?

The guy's got major lung issues. It doesn't take much to set them off. This is something I can attest to personally -- if your lungs are already "twitchy" from something else, cigarette smoke can really shut you down.

[Xenalyte]

"It hits you right away, the minute you walk out the door. It catches me, I start coughing, I know she's smoking, I can see she's smoking visually, and I can get the effects of the smoke when I inhale what should be fresh air in my own back patio," Zangrando told the judge.

How do you smoke visually?

[mylife]

Hehehehe Your neighbor may be related to the guy in the story!

[Normal4me]

It is a legal product. Just because you don't smoke, you don't see a problem with not being able to smoke OUTDOORS? What if she had a pet and the neighbor is allergic, should she be forced to get rid of her pet?

I would get a gas grill and stoke it with pine straw, they would REALLY have something to complain about then.

[Tacis]

Hey, if she can't smoke tobacco on her own balcony, the next thing you know, they'll stop her from burning chopped truck tires, as well!!

Why do smokers believe that their tobacco smoke is a blessing to others? Why do they believe that the results of their addiction should be tolerated, if not enjoyed, by non-addicts? It is jus like the kid who plays his boom box at max, whether on the street, in his car, or in the apartment next door.

What is puzzling here is why the addict has to go out on the balcony to smoke and does not smoke in her apartment. Is it because she has a child she doesn't want to poision? Does her "room-mate" dislike smoking that much? This honey should have the mental strength to quit and screw the state out of the tax revenue.

[P.O.E.]

I think the neighbor should insist the couple next store practice safe sex, with government supervision. /sarc

[r9etb]

I'd suggest he move

Yup. I expected as much.

However, he owns, she rents, and he was there first.

And now you're suggesting that this fellow actually ought to buy the place.

IOW, you're basically placing the costs for her stupid, smelly behavior on the guy who it's bothering.

This is the typically libertarian response: the smoker has no responsibility for what she's doing to others, and the guy next door has to accept it all, and pay for it, too.