Second-hand smoke can kill. This is public knowledge and that knowledge has led to the increased restriction on where those who choose to participate in the activity can do so. In the name of public health and safety Washington State residents can now enjoy any restaurant or work place smoke free as well as rest assured that while walking into any publicly accessed building they will not be assaulted by the toxins and carcinogens that are found in second-hand smoke. According to RCW 70.160.020 public places “include, but are not limited to: Schools, elevators, public conveyances or transportation facilities, museums, concert halls, theaters, auditoriums, exhibition halls, indoor sports arenas, hospitals, nursing homes, health care facilities or clinics, enclosed shopping centers, retail stores, retail service establishments, financial institutions, educational facilities, ticket areas, public hearing facilities, state legislative chambers and immediately adjacent hallways, public restrooms, libraries, restaurants, waiting areas, lobbies, bars, taverns, bowling alleys, skating rinks, casinos, reception areas, and no less than seventy-five percent of the sleeping quarters within a hotel or motel that are rented to guests.” And according to RCW 70.160.075 “Smoking is prohibited within a presumptively reasonable minimum distance of twenty-five feet from entrances, exits, windows that open, and ventilation intakes that serve an enclosed area where smoking is prohibited so as to ensure that tobacco smoke does not enter the area through entrances, exits, open windows, or other means.” The law itself does not pertain to private residences that may be open to public, but I ask you this; why should the air I breathe at the mall or at my local McDonalds be safer for me and my family than that which I breathe in my own home? If the general public can determine that smoking should not occur around openings that lead to public spaces to as to prevent possible contamination of the air there, should I not assume I have a right to determine the spaces around the opening to my home not be just as protected? I have personally prohibited smoking within my home, why should the areas around it where air intake occurs, not be just as defended as my local supermarkets?
I’ve heard the argument that smokers have every right to use the space they rent as they deem fit, but as with any right that right ends where it begins to affect the rights of others. In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins.” This is why we have laws regulating everything from noise to physical contact. Everyone has the right to clean air, just as they have a right to clean water. I cannot contaminate my neighbor’s drinking water; there are laws, and morals, that restrict that. I may have the right to buy known poisons, the right to use them as the instructions allow, the right to expose myself to the potential harm, but I cannot just spray it out my back door and trust it won’t find its way into my neighbors spaces or the ground water they drink. My neighbors have the right to smoke in their respective units, so long as the smoke does not bother any residents in connecting units. My neighbors have the right to stand on their respective balconies and smoke, however, the minuet that smoke leaves either of theirs personal space and wafts into my open door or window, their rights have infringed upon mine. There is no grey area here. They must contain their smoke to the space each rents; that they have paid for the right to use, and it’s their responsibility to keep it from entering the rented space of others. It is the job of the management company to enforce the limits of those rights. This issue may not be addressed specifically in our laws, but it is inherent in the laws that govern our Constitution.
Since first beginning this letter I have come across even more evidence to the potential harm my neighbors may cause. Just outside the second stairwell to building ___ at Lakeside Landing in Tacoma, WA, I discovered a patch of burnt beauty-bark surrounding a used cigarette (09 June, 2012). I cannot be certain from which apartment in that stairwell this little treasure came, but the fear it instilled in me is no less certain; there is a real threat to my family and it’s safety living next to these smokers, especially considering the obvious disregard for the welfare of the property and those that live here. I have included two (2) images of this discovery for your records. I have also included two (2) images that further illustrate the lack of care in the disposal of cigarettes from ____ and possibly others. According to FEMA in a report from 2005, smoking causes nearly 15,000 residential fires per year and result in some of the highest fatality and injury rates in home fires. These fires are also some of the most preventable of that kind.
I would like to point out that based on WSDOH as of 2010 the rate of adult smokers in Washington State was as low as 14.8 percent. Based on that research it’s safe to say the bulk of your residents are in fact non-smokers and therefore implementing any new policy regarding smoking near the buildings would impact the convenience of a very small percentage of those currently residing on you properties. It will, however, benefit a great many that, like myself, may be harmed by the actions of those few. I have included a link to a file that can assist in the adoption of smoke-free policy for residential rentals. If a smoke-free property seems like a huge leap, it would still be prudent to consider tougher policies regarding where residents can participate in the activity, including but not limited to a greater awareness of the potential dangers associated with it. We all deserve to feel and be safe in our own home.
