apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'm ecstatic about this.

I have lived in my apartment for 3 years now. No one in the building smokes. Then we get a new tenant a few months ago. And he lives above me. There are cigarette butts on my window sill and when he smokes I can smell it in my bedroom as I try to sleep. Apparently, the other tenants could too and talked to him.

He now smokes behind the building in the alley. How nice of him you say? Yes, it's nice that he is no longer trying to murder us.

i think its hot! if it isnt liked u simply just dnt move into it or others. we all have our right to chose.

We think it's about time.

Excellent.

I love the idea! I hate that I can't sit out side on my patio or have my doors open without having to smell my neighbors smoke. yuck!

Its about time non-smokers have a choice in the matter! Woohoo! :)

Hope more follow suit!

It's not "too restricted for a residence". The smoke-free premise will attract some and ward off others. If there's a market for it, they'll sell it.

It's no different than other types of communities. Some don't let you have pets, others don't allow residents under a certain age, etc. Wally3's right, it's market driven. If they didn't think there was demand for this type of housing, I'm sure they wouldn't have wasted the money trying.

Love it!

I hate the smell of cigarette smoke wafting through the ventillation system in my building...
...and the cigarette butts that land on my balcony from the inconsiderate smoker tenant's above.

Oh, definitely hot! Here in California, landlords advertise as being smoke-free. However, in a condo, there are problems because the units are owned. I had a neighbor downstairs who smoked like chimney, and made our home smell like one too.

Love it! I had an apartment where the woman downstairs wouldn't let her boyfriend smoke in the apartment, so he smoked in the back stairwell.

Which meant he was essentially smoking in MY apartment. Yuk!

This is great.

Insulation tends to be pretty bad in condos. Smoke from neighboring units can seep through floor joints, outlets, electrical panels and exhaust fans creating a "bowling alley" or smoking lounge odor.

This is excellent. With today's shoddily constructed buildings that lack good insulation between apartments, this is the only way to go.

I wouldn't want to live in a place where I can't have guests at my own party on my own balcony without getting in trouble for smoking.

LOVE IT! Our downstairs neighbors smoke on their terrace and it goes right into our bedroom via the ventilation system (no chance to even close a window). I HATE that they dont want smoke in their place so instead we get it in ours. Yuck

I get that people want the right to smoke but, when that right infringes on my right to breathe fresh air, sorry Nicotine Free air(I live in LA), then some alternate solutions have to be available.

Hot or not, it's definitely not the first. There are several apartment complexes in my neighborhood that don't allow smoking. Now if only they could find a way to ban "roach farming," I'd move in to that building in a second.

Yeah, this is not really news. There are tons of apartment buildings in Chicago that don't allow smoking. Or pets. Or whatever. Yawn.

That loft is concrete for pete's sake. I'm all for avoiding smoke when in public, but if there are no shared ventilation systems and no chance of smoke seeping between units then I say let people smoke away in their private enclosed spaces.

I know this smoke-free isn't anything very new, but anything smoke free definitely deserves praise in my opinion. I smoked for several years, and recently quit- it's been 7 months and it's still hard. But with all the recent smoking bans it's been easier and easier and more of my friends are quitting. I used to hate the idea of smoking bans- i felt like it infringed upon my rights. But now i realize that i had been infringing on everyone else's lungs (and nostrils! my clothes wreaked!). So the idea of a smoke-free complex (or smoke-free anything!) is a great one, especially for the quitters who struggle with the addiction for years.

that being said, i don't think every apartment complex should have to be smoke-free. i think in the privacy of your own home- the home that you pay for- you should be able to do anything that the law permits. but those buildings should have the proper ventilation so that others don't suffer the consequences.

so there. i'm done with my rant now :D

I am not even a smoker, but where do you expect people who do smoke to live? I completely disagree - if we can't even have our own habits in our own home, where can we? It would also restrict people who want to rent their place out after they move out. Trying to restrict that among renters would sure cut down your options of whom to rent to.

My building is nonsmoking in all public areas, which means stairwells and behind the back door, entryway, hallways, laundryroom, etc. but an old building (not concrete) and it works well. Occasionally I get a waft in my bathroom of the person in the unit next to mine smoking near an open window, but I find that to be no different (given that it is occasional) from the occasional waft of bad perfume or bad cooking...

for every 3 who complain about their neighbour's smoky habit, I am sure there are dozens who have no reason to complain as they are totally unaware of or unaffected by their neighbour's smoke. not all smokers are inconsiderate!

but if you live in a building with crappy shared ventilation system, then I guess it is reasonable to ban smoking in the building.

(i am an ex-smoker)

sassy - in any of the hundreds of other buildings that do permit smoking, maybe? This would be a big plus for me. No one wants to smoke in their own apartments at my place, which is good because it doesn't come through the vents, but bad because I can't leave a window open anywhere. It's not occasional, the way other bad smells are. It's all the stinking time.

However, I'd have no problem living in a complex in which there were separate smoking and nonsmoking buildings, preferably with a parking lot or nonsmoking courtyard or pool in between.

And while I'm on the subject... this is really going to p*ss people off... I wish there were more outdoor areas designated nonsmoking. If I want to catch a breath of fresh air at work, I literally need to leave the block. The concrete of the courtyard near our building reeks from fifty years of accumulated nicotine. You'd never think an open area would stink so bad. And you can't enjoy the air at any restaraunt patio without someone blowing smoke in your face because they have to puff after every bite.

I didn't realize that a non-smoking complex was a novel concept. I currently live in one in Seattle, and I love it. Before this place, I'd always lived in complexes where you could smoke in your apartment, but not the common areas. Well, every time someone opens a door or window, that smoke goes right into the common areas. I have asthma, and there were a lot of older people in my last complex who had breathing problems as well, so it was very unpleasant. To the people who think this is somehow oppressing smokers because "OMG where will they live?!" - let them live in the complexes that allow smoking. But don't complain because some of us want to live away from smoke. I'm sick of the entitlement attitude so many smokers have. Sure, you have a right to smoke - and I also have a right to clean air.

As a past president of our NYC co-op we toyed with the idea of banning new sales to smokers.. On advise of our lawyers we didn't do it for fear of lawsuits. NY apt have vents and smoke travels all over UGH. Why should those of us who choose to lead smoke free lives suffer!!! Insurance rates are much higher for smoker, both because they can burn the house down, and also destroy dirty walls in no time.. I would ban smoking on the entire Earth if up to me!

As someone who frequently smells smoke from other neighbors smoking inside their apartments, or has to hang out on the pool deck with lots of people smoking, or has to have the elevators smell of smoke from people riding in them that reek of it.......this is something exciting. It's not restrictive, it's a choice to live there. It's like finding a place that allows a pet.

great idea! i have asthma and am allergic to smoke, which can cause the wheezing and major sinus infection. most smokers have no appreciation of these problems and have no idea how the smoke causes illness----just encountering someone who smokes with clothes that reek of it is painful. i know they are not trying to kill me but..... nothing personal against them but i need smoke free air.

It's not a ban, but a choice - I can't see how anyone could have something against it. I am all for banning smoking wherever it's possible. I have an extremely hard time with smoke, I have asthma and very high sensitivity to smoke, which causes me headaches... I can smell smoke from many yards and I hate it. In the previous building there were guys who were not smoking inside, but outside on the stairs to the building... sometimes I was finding cigarette butts in front of my doors (I had an entry from the ground level), and I could not have my window open. I didn't say anything, because one - I am shy, two- I didn't want to look like a whiny bitch. But it does bother me very, very much - same with people stinking with smoke...

I hate also whenever I go to local grocery store/mini mall, there are a few workers who go out for a smoke... I have to go through a tunnel of smoke to get to the store's entry! Just because it's in the open air, doesn't mean the smoke disappear....

I appreciate the option.

It's not just a smell but it does do damage, I had a room mate who was a chain smoker and I didn't think much of it until i developed a deep chest cough. I moved out but the cough stayed.

Smoke doesn't have barriers it won't stop at the door or just stay in your room. No place is perfectly hermetically sealed.

Outside of my place, however, I'm cool with it, I'm not going to make any of my friends change how they do things. But they've always been naturally mindful about it.

love it!! my downstairs neighbors at a former apartment smoked like chimneys and it always seeped up through the floor. not only was it disgusting to smell but it was terrible for my asthma!

I seriously don't see how people can be offended by this. If they choose to smoke, then they can choose another place to live. I love it. I've heard of it before, but still, every time I hear about nonsmoking stuff, it makes me happy. It's our right to breathe clean air.

Besides, every single smoker I know wants to quit. Maybe if it becomes inconvenient, more people will quit, and end up saving their life.

I'm a non smoker and currently live in a smoke-free building.

While smoke bothers me, I still believe people have the right to smoke in their own private spaces as well as outside and on the street, etc.

BTW, ostracizing and restricting smokers will not help them quit; smoking is not just a bad habit, it is an addiction and should be treated as such.

In most larger residential buildings, if smoke, toilet, pet, weed, kitchen, or any other odors permeate other units, there's something wrong with the ventilation system. Buildings with individual baseboard heat and AC units have NO recirculating air. The outside air is heated or cooled, enters the corridors, then goes under to door to kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans. Smokers in the corridor will be noticed on that particular floor. Office and school buildings with common forced air HVAC systems do recirculate except for shop areas, kitchens and washrooms, which are exhaused to the outside.

I think everyone needs to relax...