Firsthand smoke has been proven to be hazardous without a doubt. Secondhand smoke has incidental evidence after long exposure.

Thirdhand smoke (a.k.a. "nuisance" smoke) has no evidence of any health hazard. Merely being annoyed by the scent of smoke wafting from an apartment a couple floors below is not a solid ground to make a ban. If we're going that route, we should ban other annoying things, such as yapping dogs (oh wait, the mayor already did).

I like the direction of thought that Roe is using on this (rather than the knee jerk response I've been seeing).

Why is there such a venomous backlash at smokers? I mean, I understand the health issues and as a smoker I try to be as conscious as possible of others, but why all the nastiness? Wouldn't a little civility (form both sides, obviously) work better?

Considering all this negativity is it any wonder why there are rude smokers?!?!

No, it wouldn't. The odor of stinky food isn't filled with carbon monoxide and other carcinogens. But if that odor of stinky food is coming from a commericial establishment call 311 and the city will cite the restaurant for violating the odor code.

If you're gonna smoke take it outside!

btw we don't wanna see your disgusting habit out in public, what kind of example are you setting for the children!? Go back to the attic or basement you trolls!

roe - hasn't stress been linked to cancer (particularly breast cancer i think?). doesn't the screeching kid down the hallway cause stress? doesn't that make them more than an annoyance, but a health hazard?

ban kids from apartments!

The smell of people cooking nasty food in my hallway is much worse than any cigarette smoke. Should we outlaw stinky foods too?? If you people replace the word smoke w/ "cooking with curry" would your rational for remain the same?

I am truly amazed the response of the "right" people thinking they have a "right" as to what goes on it other people's domiciles.

That's the crux of the issue, really. One has the right to do what they wish in their own home. However, they do not have the right to control what happens in someone else's home.

And this is where smoking gets tricky. When a smoker lights up in an apartment and that smoke travels next door, he or she has just changed the environment of someone else's home. Unlike that screeching kid down the hall, that secondhand smoke is more than an annoyance, it's a health hazard. Why, as a tenant, should I be forced to court cancer or asthma to accommodate someone else's habit?

If smokers want to smoke in their apartment, I think it's fair to ask them to assume the costs of sealing their apartments to ensure that their smoke does not affect anyone else. Do what you like in your home, but keep it there.

Did I go to sleep and wake up in 30's Germany? I'm a non-smoker, always thought they were nasty, always will. It's a filthy habit and yes in many many cases it gives that person who CHOSE to smoke, some sort of cancer(several years after its given them the voice of Kathleen Turner and the teeth of an English sheepherder).

But what the hell is happening to this city? I hate tanktop wearing, bandana clad tool bags who wear gold chains and don't take that tage off their stupid tilted hats - they give me stress - and you know what - the surgeon general says stress is bad for your health. So I guess its reasonable to ban those bozos. Oh yeah - people who own poodles - arrest them and deport them to Roosevelt Island. You know - instead of itemizing - lets get rid of everything we don't agree with, don't understand, or simply don't like. Tax it to death so it all stops from bothering me!!!

This is not YOUR world, it's OURS. This country is founded on the absolute right to smoke yourself to death if you so choose. Why do you so desperately want to get rid of that freedom?

Oh and HannerHearse - there is so much smoke in your building that after you plugged the doorway with foam you still had a sore throat?? I think you might be mistaken....and your building is on fire!!!!!

Wow.

So, to summarize, cigarette butts are now way too gross to look at, people can't take the smell of someone else smoking, and completely banning something some people don't like makes it right.

And then you guys wonder when NYC "lost its edge?"

AlpineIllusion, that's actually not a ridiculous comment... at all.

http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/30/1/31

I don't give a damn what people do to the atmosphere inside their own homes, just keep it out of my home. I have a right to not have my apartment stunk up by someone else.

That being said, I love you Emily. I enjoyed the pot too in my old apartment. Pot and quite a few smelly cigars. Fortunately I was on the top floor and it didn't affect anyone.

People with statements along the lines of "You have no right to smoke in my building" are usually the same people with their own addictions to hide.

It's NYC people. Everyone lives on top of each other. There has to be a way of dealing with this.

I am truly amazed the response of the "right" people thinking they have a "right" as to what goes on it other people's domiciles.

"Last time I checked, I lived in New York City...How did I end up in Berlin 1945?"

Invalidating your argument with the very first sentence - nice tactic!

I agree with everyone else. Smoking is a disgusting, dangerous habit. You have no right to smoke next to me in a bar or restaurant, no right to smoke next to me on a bus, train or plane, and no right to inject my living space with your smoke.

"Pharmer:

What exactly was the dumb bint's reasoning?"

Haha. Apparently, "Everyone smokes. You're a loser if you don't." She was serious.

I was surprised. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that apart from tv.

I had a neighbor who smoked and it was terrible in my apartment... oh, and she was 2 floors down!!! Fortunately she was there only a couple of months...

Ahh, the socialists are out to play tonight..

Gromek - Great idea, I hear our prisons have lots of space in them...

You people are scary.

For smokers, the writing is on the wall. They all know it. Even in Europe. I grew up here during the 80s and my parents & I would rarely go out to restaurants because of smokers. My mom and I also flew to Germany every summer to visit my grandmother & sister who lived in Bavaria near Frankfurt.

About 10 years ago we wanted to dine at a restaurant in Frankfurt. When we asked for a non-smoking area, the guy just looked funny at us. Now, we should have known better, but we were used to asking over here & forgot that we were in Europe's "smoker's paradise". He then replied to us "outside" and laughed. Today, there's even a smoking ban there.

Anyway, everyone living in my building is a non-smoker and I hope it stays that way. It looks like I may have the law on my side just in case that status changes.

Last time I checked, I lived in New York City...How did I end up in Berlin 1945? Honestly, banning people from smoking in bars and restaurants is fine, they are enclosed public spaces, and smoking inside them is selfish and gross. Smoking inside your apartment is your g-d given right. You pay an absurd amount to live there, so you should be able to smoke there.

People keep sighting the idea of 'Proper use and enjoyment' of their own apartment, to litigate against smokers. What about the smokers' right to do what they please in their own home? What about if the issue in question is nasty loud sex, should we van that as well because some 'neighbors' say it infringes upon their lives? What if it was a crying infant? I'd like to pass a law that my neighbor's 4 month old should have to cry on the sidewalk or wear a muzzle.

This is a transplant issue (no offense, many of you are amazing additions to NYC). Look, when you live in NYC, even if you run a hedge fund, you live 22 inches away from your neighbors. I can hear my neighbors brush their teeth, and have heard much more over the years. Get used to it. It's close quarters, and it's the price you pay for all the positive benefits of living in Interzone.

I don't smoke cigarettes, but I do occasionally enjoy the pot. Knock on my door and complain! 95% of you bitchy anti-smoking people smoke weed in your apartment, and I know some people who can't stand that smell as well.