My neighbor smokes

[Shoney]

and it is becoming an issue! I am a fresh-air freak, and always have my windows open, and frequently my front door as well. Because of the rules governing the housing here, people Have to smoke outside, and my neighbor does so, on her patio, where it drifts into my house several times a day. By the time the house has completely aired out, she's out there lighting up again.

I know being 100% raw will provide a lot of protective health benefits, but is there any specific food/s that I can incorporate right now that will protect me and my kids to a large degree?

Thanks!

[luckitri]

ugh! I can't stand the smell. BBQ fluid and the smoke kills me too. I think they are talking about outlawing it here. Also fireplace smoke - we have alot of no burn days because the smoke hovers in the air and it really gets so oppressive that you cannot go take a walk!

Don't know about special protection. Get a big fan and position it facing her porch and give her a clue!

[Elizabeth]

I cannot stand cigarette smoke, and think that no-one who is not a smoker themselves should ever have to smell it!!!

I think you should get a fan and put it so it is obviously blowing the smokey air out...even if you have to deploy multiple fans. :-)

It will likely keep the smoke out of your air-space and also let her know that you do not enjoy her toxic emissions....

:p

[DavidZaneMason]

Opinion:

-Good cleansing practices will minimize the harm from second-hand smoke (light eating, light fasting, pure water, light exercise, joyful living, etc.), but no foods will fully prevent it.

-You can certainly speak politely with the neighbor first, before becoming non-polite! Ha! ha!

-David Z. Mason

[Elizabeth]

Hi David,

I am not sure exactly what you meant..but I do not think that blowing intruding, unwelcome smoke out of your home or preventing it from entering with a fan, is "non-polite." Of course she can talk with them...if she has the sense that it will do any good, but, my experience with smokers, and that of other non-smokers I know, is often that, unless we are "friends" already, (and even then, it can be touchy) they do not take too kindly to being asked to moderate their smoking practices out of respect for other people's needs.

At the University I attend I have thought of wearing a mask when I walk through certain areas, because smokers stand in front of the doors to the library, etc., ..lol..stinking up the space. People have complained, and they still do it!!

Also, I would think that limiting unnecessary exposure to toxins is the obvious first line of defense. It seems to me that any dietary or other lifestyle practices are better "spent" on mitigating the negative effects of those things to which we cannot help being exposed.

It gives me migraines, and stinks up my hair, and poisons my body. I think that it should be illegal in public or anywhere an unwilling, or unable to legally consent, participant is present!!!

That is what I think......;)

[misslinda]

* chuckles *


I have this issue and this is what I do and it seems to send the message.


I have a fan on my patio...everytime they start smoking, I turn the loud fan on and shut the patio door. I usually douse the fan with some tee tree oil to fresh the air...........I know that the noise drives them crazy but it soothes me.......

I burn sage out there to clear/move the air.

I spray tee tree oil/water over the patio evertime they smoke.

I repeat the process over and over and lately, the haven't been smoking as much.

[Elizabeth]

you have such a lovely flair...I am sure you get your messages across without causing offense. :-) I appreciate your example...:o :)

[RawVee]

My brother is a smoker and uses one of those air ionizers. It actually works!

[Shoney]

I love the idea of tea tree oil. Thank you, misslinda (and everyone else)! I have some on hand, as well as a spritzer, so I guess I'll employ that and the fans. I don't want to be rude, especially since the smoker is also the roommate of a very sweet gal I went to high school with who is in some particularly difficult circumstances. I think I'm going to complain to the apartment manager. There won't be much she can do, except to send my complaint on up to headquarters. And I realized today it's not just my immediate neighbor, but the two apartments beyond hers! Seriously contemplating moving. I was thinking about it anyway . . .

It just ticks me off that my health (and the health of my children) is continuously compromised by a steady stream of a known carcinogen. Argh. Off to go write that letter to the manager . . .

I suppose this could be seen as definite motive to continue transitioning as quickly as I can to 100% raw! :)

[hypnocmt]

Yuck. Smoking is such a deal breaker for me. yuck. I sympathize.

I find it;s good to have an air filter with or without smokers around. Car exhaust and such will do their own nasty stuff to your air...Gota clean it up as much as you can!

The citrus oil air fresheners are MARVELOUS! I have a smoker downstarirs from me, and these freshen up the hallways of the building like a charm. Hours later, the smokeis still MIA and the fresh scent of limes is invigorating!

Salt crystal lamps are also quite nicel My office/treatment room is only about 10x10. Once in awhile I get a gassy client, or someone with very...um...continental smelling pits. Between the citrus oil freshener and the natural ionic power of the salt lamps, odor is gone in a few seconds.

I have found that confronitng smokers is risky. Sometimes they get a little rebellious and try to smoke you out all the more. Too bad we can;t pass a law that they have to exhale into a bag or something, lol.

[JGex]

I know this won't be the popular opinion, but if the smokers are smoking outside where they have been told they may, what would the next solution be?

Honestly, other than tackling it from the angle of getting your own filter for your indoor area and a fan to keep air from coming in, is it really fair to complain to the apartment manager if the smokers are smoking exactly where they have been allowed?

[misslinda]

Shoney, LOL burning sage is a great wa to satisf their HUGNER to even smoke.

I'm in a double edge sword.........the are allowed to smoke in and out. PLusw antime of the da....the gal below me smokes at 4 am --just when my LIVER is filtering and finishing his hard work at night :cool: :D


Elizaaaaaaaabeth, I use to use CLOVE but I thought naghhhhhhhh that's tooo sterile smelling;)

[Sharon in Colorado]

I saw a big story on this. The neighbors are fighting as one smokes, the other doesn't and the smokey air is making it's way into the clean air. There are even lawsuits going on - it is getting pretty ugly.

It's almost like there should be smoke-free apartment buildings for those who don't want to be around it.

I tend to smell it at stop lights when the person in the car in front of or next to me is smoking with their window rolled down. It comes through our vents.

It just seems impossible to get away from. It sounds snobby to the smoker, but really, the smell is not nice to deal with. The smoker can't tell the difference until they give it up, then they can really tell.

I agree about the fan. Put it right near that window and blow the air out during the day.

[Shoney]

My neighbors do have a right to smoke - but not if it compromises my health. Soooo . . . I jumped up after my last post to talk with the manager. Turns out people CAN smoke inside their apartments here, they just won't because they don't want to stink up their units. Hello? What do they think they're doing to their lungs??

I wrote a very polite letter to management, cited some statistics, made it look all nice and professional. The letter was received warmly because the manager agrees with me, I'm not the only nonsmoker to have complained, and it has become such a problem that the corporate office is trying to ban smoking from the property altogether. Guess it's a real hassle, though, because it's HUD housing and so it has to go through Congress. BUT. It is nice to know that the smokers here can smoke indoors, nice to know that I did something to be vocal in a positive way about protecting my family's health, and I learned in the process that tea tree oil will help. Oh, and eucalyptus too. I have my spray bottle armed and ready! :)

Meanwhile for some reason I feel marvellous and am munching on dates and drinking my filtered water. Hurrah for getting healthy!!

[RowanC]

I LOVE IT! What great ideas!

And how evilly nice :p

[RawFoodieMom]

I know this won't be the popular opinion, but if the smokers are smoking outside where they have been told they may, what would the next solution be?

Honestly, other than tackling it from the angle of getting your own filter for your indoor area and a fan to keep air from coming in, is it really fair to complain to the apartment manager if the smokers are smoking exactly where they have been allowed?

I see what you're saying... but... it's totally fair to complain to the management if the smokers are smoking where they're PRESENTLY allowed. Because it's not like the complaint is against the smokers directly at this point. The complaint is about the current rules, and that they need to be changed. It's not like she's trying to get any smokers in trouble, it's the fact that if the patio is so close to someone else's residence that the smoke gets into someone else's residence, that's a huge health issue, and the rules need to be changed.

Laws are constantly changing around here regarding smoking. Think about what's already been changed... I don't know about where you live, but in Ontario, you can't smoke in restaurants anymore, there are no "smoking" sections anymore. You can't smoke in bars, you can't smoke in bingo halls. Nothing. AND... in some places there are laws that smoking has to be a certain distance away from a building. If someone is smoking outside a restaurant and is right by the entrance, obviously the smoke is going to drift back into the restaurant, so they have to be a certain distance away. :) Anyway, there's a lot more, so progress has been made in a great way around here, and things are still improving and new laws that are more strict being enforced.

Debra

[RawFoodieMom]

Shoney, I totally know how you feel, and how frustrating it is...

I live in a semi-detached house. My neighbour that's attached to me sprays his lawn twice a year. He lawn is connected to mine. :mad: I really want to plant a veggie garden, but how can I? I can't be sure they're not going to get that chemical junk on them even if I plant the garden along the side of the house... That would be a bit of shelter. But he gets the front and back lawns sprayed. I get so upset when I see those little signs pop up after the company has been there WARNING people that the lawn has been chemically sprayed. Why isn't this a clue that maybe you don't want to be exposed to that?? I have pets, and we both have kids, what's with people? Who cares if you get a brown patch or two, or a few dandelions??

Anyway, I digress...

Debra

[RawCutter]

I choose to live in LA where I don't have to rely on my neighbors for my pollution.

[JGex]

RFM, it's against the law here to smoke in restaurants, bars, etc, also. I agree that this is a good thing.... even when I smoked, I did not like people smoking in the restaurant where I was eating. Bars were often SO smokey, I left shows early.

However, when you're talking about where people live and pay rent (not sure how HUD works), how far are you going to ask them to walk to smoke? Is there ANYwhere they can go where it won't bother someone?

It sounds like a good idea is to put all smokers in the same building and nonsmokers in another, but I'm sure that would be a nightmare for management when they had one apartment open in a smoking building, and only a non-smoker who wanted to rent.

Frankly, close proximity to other people and OPP are the very reason I've never rented in an apartment.

Shoney, I don't know what the answer is. Cigarette smoke has an aroma, but there are certainly many other toxins we breathe in every day that do not. In a perfect world........

[JGex]

I choose to live in LA where I don't have to rely on my neighbors for my pollution.

Best.Answer.Ever.

:D

[Shoney]

I would plant your garden anyway, darn it! At least that way you'll know what chemicals are on there. Isn't there some commerical product available to remove pesticides and junk? FIT or something, I think it's called.

Someday, when I am no longer a poor college student, I am going to get a house in the country with an acre or so and garden and breathe. Meanwhile I'm very thankful for a clean place to live and to be in a teeny town that has virtually no pollution. Unless one counts the field burning every year . . . but, hey, it's not L.A.! I couldn't live there, hours I have spent in L.A. I got a terrible, terrible headache. When I left, so did the headache. Hm . . .

[DavidZaneMason]

Ha! ha! I think the fan is a good idea. I meant that I would certainly speak to the neighbor also. I'd bring her a plate of fruit, and ask her nicely to help me out with my smoke problem! After that I might speak not so politely! :)

-David Z. Mason

[Larue]

I choose to live in LA where I don't have to rely on my neighbors for my pollution.

hey, not if you live near the ocean:) It's your choice man!

[Larue]

The trouble with cigarette smoke is that you can't get it to stay with the smoker. If someone smokes everyone has to smoke with them! We can make laws and designate smoking areas, but we can't make the smoke obey the laws....:D

[Sharon in Colorado]

How about a "no exhaling" law. :p It might not work for past Presidents, but who knows...

[Shoney]

I'm with you there! No exhaling indeed. Or, as someone previously suggested, make them exhale into a paper bag.

One of the things I put in my letter to management was that I do not object to other people asserting their right to smoke, but that their rights end where my right (and the rights of my children) begin. Other people do not have the right to risk my health! Anyway, I was pretty pleased with the letter.

[misslinda]

We have about 10 smoke free communities out here and the owners have said that it is a dream b/c it saves them alot of $$$$$$$$$$ The cleaning job cost much less and the "burn" risk is not there with smokers............

I'd imagine as time goes by, we'll see more and more of these communitites.

:)

I hope all works out and they willl start smoking less...........TOMORROW:D

[Ariannah]

I once saw a phrase: "Having a no-smoking section in a restaurant is like having a no-peeing section in a pool."