I know what you mean, West Ender. I live in a tower where an ex-neighbour on my floor appeared to smoke exclusively in his suite. Whenever I walked by his door, there was a cloud of smoke sitting there. At night, he would do more smoking and the smoke would enter my suite waking me up which forced me to open my balcony door to clear the air. I finally bought an air purifier and aimed it at the door every night to treat the air before it got to my sleeping area. I was so happy when he was evicted.

However, if you're on good terms with your neighbours, I'd recommend talking to them in a non-threatening and non-confrontational manner and make them aware of the effect they are having on your unit and ask them to vent their garage when they are smoking.

But if you don't think you and your neighbours can solve the problem on your own and the smoke is going through a common area into your suite, then check your Strata's rules and bylaws to see if there is anything that will allow your property manager or council to fine your neighbours. If there is, then file a complaint with your strata.

My property manager recently banned smoking on private patios and balconies causing one of my neighbours to start smoking indoors and second-hand smoke is entering my suite again. Therefore, I'm trying to convince council that my property manager's interpretation of the new City of Vancouver Health By-law 9535 is incorrect so that my neighbour can be encouraged to smoke outside again. However, if I fail, I might urge Strata to fine my neighbour for "using the strata lot in a way that causes a nuisance or hazard to any occupier of a strata lot". Longer term if my property manager continues to insist people can't smoke on their balconies but are permitted to smoke in their suites, I'll be putting forward a motion at the next AGM to ban smoking entirely from my building. I've heard of a new development in North Vancouver where the developer actually banned smoking in the initial Rules and Bylaws.

This is also a debate in the building I am on Strata for. It is a conversion of a commercial building in East Vancouver. There has been a lengthy history of complaints, some of them contributing to health issues in children, in this building due to the migration (typically up through slatted wood floors) and occasionally through common ventilation systems in the building.

I have looked at previous cases for this, and it seems like most legal decisions have been based on the impacts of smoke as a 'nuiscance' and not as a 'hazard' under the strata act. Does anyone know of any cases where the issue has been deemed a health hazard in a court case? It seems strange to me that this has not had a precedence, since the health hazards of second hand smoke are well documented.

In response to Watcher...
Alcohol is a substance that damages the user, but does not directly damage the physical body of those nearby. Your liver is yours to damage however you like, but the lungs of an individual living upstairs from you are not. I understand that smoking is a particularly nasty addiction, but this is not an analogy that can be used!

Marie