Is Secondhand Smoke Impacting your Community? Take CAN’s Up In Smoke Survey.

Is Secondhand Smoke Impacting your Community? Take CAN’s Up In Smoke Survey.

Picture this:

It is a beautiful Florida day. There is a light breeze blowing, the sun is setting, and it is cool enough to enjoy sitting out on the patio of your condo. You are all set up to sip a cool glass of wine with some friends when your neighbor steps out to enjoy a pack of cigarettes.

Or how about this:

You are walking to your mailbox to pick up your mail and your path takes you by a neighbor walking her dog and smoking.

Or even this:

You are sitting in your living room watching TV when you smell the cigarette smoke coming through from your neighbor’s unit.

While smoke is a natural part of life emanating from candles, cooking and the occasional tobacco product, excessive second-hand smoke is becoming a growing problem for many communities. Over the years we have received many inquiries from condominiums, cooperatives and HOAs struggling with the issue of excessive second-hand smoke impacting their residents and employees. Bearing in mind that it is currently difficult and expensive for associations to successfully intervene when residents complain about a neighbor’s excessive smoke invading their units, balconies, the corridors and other common areas, CAN is asking for your input in this short survey.

Has your association confronted the issue of second-hand smoke and how have you dealt with it? Do you believe that an association should have tools to intervene when excessive second-hand smoke becomes an issue or is this an area that associations should avoid?

For the communities that have this issue, it creates a serious impact on their residents’ lives.

While we have heard from many CAN members that this is a complicated issue, how many of you believe that a legislative change making it easier to amend your documents to regulate or prohibit smoking is warranted?