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ake and Sandra were excited about moving into their new place-a bright, one-bedroom apartment in a modern four-storey building.
But soon after settling in, the couple began to notice that their clothes, blankets, and furniture smelled like cigarette smoke, even
though they didn't smoke. They wondered where the stale smoke smell was coming from.
Then they realized that the woman living below them, and the man down the hallway, smoked heavily. Their second-hand smoke was
drifting through the air vents and under the doors...
"Blowing smoke", "drifting second-hand smoke", "second-hand smoke transfer"
However you say it, the second-hand cigarette smoke that clouds the outdoor patio of your favourite restaurant, or wafts your way
while you're watching your child play soccer, can be annoying. It is also potentially harmful to your health.
Even more harmful is second-hand smoke that invades your private living space through cracks in the wall, vents in the floor, or an
open window on a warm summer night.
Toxins from smoke cling to household objects
"Second-hand smoke clings to everything—clothes, furniture, toys-and gives off toxins for some time," says Sharon Hammond,
provincial coordinator for the Clean Air Coalition of British Columbia (CACBC). Other organizations involved with drifting second-hand
smoke include the Ontario Tobacco-Free Network, the
Non-Smokers Rights Association and
Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.
Nobody really knows how long the toxins stay in household objects. But we do know that there is no safe level of exposure to
second-hand smoke. As researchers from Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada explain, some of the chemicals found in cigarette smoke, such
as 4-aminobiphenal, have been proven unsafe to humans at even the smallest level of exposure.
Dangers of drifting second-hand smoke
According to Health Canada, second-hand smoke contains more than 50
cancer-causing chemicals. Over time, it's toxic enough to kill a person. Every year, second-hand smoke snuffs out the lives of more
than 1,000 Canadians. Nearly 100
children under a year old die as a result of exposure to cigarettes.
'Mainstream' and 'sidestream' second-hand smoke
There are two components of second-hand smoke:
- Mainstream smoke, which is produced when a smoker exhales, and sidestream smoke, which rises from the end of a lit
cigarette.
- Sidestream smoke is
the most dangerous. For one, it contains the same chemicals found in mainstream smoke and it has higher concentrations of some carcinogens than in mainstream smoke. Secondly, there's more of it. Sidestream smoke makes up about 65% of the smoke in a smoke-filled room. It also makes up 65% of the smoke that spreads from a cigarette user's apartment into a neighbour's apartment, or floats from one condominium balcony to another.
Spreading concern about the spread of smoke
While the focus on drifting smoke in multi-dwelling units is a relatively new phenomenon, second-hand smoke in general is a
hot topic in both Canada and the United States.
Some organizations, such as the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), are leading the way in promoting initiatives that protect people
who can't protect themselves. In 2004, the OMA produced a position paper featuring recommendations to protect
children from second-hand smoke in cars, daycares, and even their own homes.
The OMA suggests parents who smoke use nicotine replacement therapies in the home, rather than simply smoking outside. Second-hand
smoke can slip through cracks in doors and windows, and can be carried inside on clothes and skin.
Health Canada has more
information to help you protect yourself and your family.
Speaking out for smoke-free living spaces
Canadian provinces and territories have varying degrees of legislation supporting smoke-free work spaces and public places. But
there are no laws protecting people who live near smokers in apartments, condominiums, and other multiple dwelling units.
"People need to have places to live that are smoke-free, especially children, the elderly, and individuals with asthma and other
health problems," says Hammond, who is currently working on initiatives to help landlords
and tenants push for anti-smoking solutions,
such as smoke-free floors or non-smoking wings.
What landlords can do
Owners of new apartments can choose to adopt partial or total smoke-free policies before renting them out. Those currently renting
to smoking tenants have no choice but to phase in smoke-free policies over time because no laws exist to evict tenants simply for being
smokers.
Landlords can help minimize drifting second-hand smoke by:
- enforcing municipal bylaws that prohibit smoking in hallways, stairways, elevators and laundry rooms
- making repairs or modifications to the premises, such as sealing cracks or upgrading ventilation system
What tenants can do
Tenants can also play a role in keeping other people's cigarette smoke at bay. The Clean Air Coalition of BC recommends:
- talking to your neighbours about working out a solution that works for both parties
- asking your landlord to enforce existing policies, such as those involving smoke-free common areas, and writing out a formal
complaint if the problem continues
- requesting building improvements that would stop the spread of smoke
- encouraging your landlord to consider (or step up) the process of creating non-smoking floors, wings, or even entire buildings.
If none of these suggestions work, ask your local tenants' association for help.
Drifting second-hand smoke is harmful. Keep your family and others safe by speaking out about the dangers of blowing smoke.
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This article was prepared by the Centre for Addictions Research of BC for the CHN 
