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Second-hand smoke is a mix of smoke from the burning end of a lit cigarette, pipe or cigar plus smoke blown into the air by the person smoking.
Second-hand smoke is poisonous and has over 4000 chemicals, including 50 that can cause cancer. Breathing second-hand smoke can be more dangerous than inhaling smoke through a cigarette. It has twice as much nicotine and tar as the smoke that people smoking inhale and five times more carbon monoxide; a deadly gas that starves your body of oxygen.
For more information on second-hand smoke, see BC HealthFile #30a The Harmful Effects of Second-hand Smoke.
Second-hand smoke can drift into your home from other homes through cracks in walls, light fixtures, bathroom fans, doorways, shared ventilation systems, and from balcony and patio areas. Once the smoke enters your home, many of the toxic chemicals stay in the air and cling to walls, drapes, carpets, furniture and clothes.
If you live in a rental building that allows smoking in the units, and smoke is entering your home, there are no clearly defined laws that will protect you from the dangers of second-hand smoke. Under the BC Residential Tenancy Act, tenants have the right to quiet enjoyment of their home. This includes the right to be free from being disturbed by other tenants. While the Act does not mention second-hand smoke, you may be able to prove that the drifting smoke is harming your health and well being, and therefore the loss of quiet enjoyment of your home.
Landlords in BC have the right to ban smoking in all or part of a building, including indoor units and outdoor patios and balconies. While they cannot change current tenancy agreements, landlords can include a non-smoking clause in new agreements. As well, as tenants who smoke move out, these units can then be rented as smoke-free units.
Condominium owners must follow the Strata Property Act and the Standard Bylaws of the Act. Your strata group can adopt a non-smoking bylaw that limits or restricts smoking in strata lots, or in common areas. If there is no bylaw, the Strata Property Act includes clauses that ban owners/residents from causing a nuisance or hazard to another resident, or acting in a way that interferes with the rights of other residents to enjoy their property.
Attend your next strata meeting to talk about having a smoke-free bylaw. For help, contact the Condominium Home Owners Association and refer to Bulletin #400-018 Bylaws, Strata Lots, Smoking and Second-hand Smoke.
If you have done all you can to solve the problem, yet the smoke still affects the health and well being of you and your family, you can apply for a hearing at the Residential Tenancy Office.
Think about moving out if the problem does not stop and the smoke is making you or family members ill. If you choose to move to another building, be sure that the entire building is smoke-free, including indoor units and outdoor balconies and patios.
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