Tackling the cigarette smell from the neighbor's yard
7 ways for non-smokers and smokers to live near each other in harmony
I sat in the backseat of my college roommate’s SUV, and I was miserable. For whatever reason, her mother decided to not roll down the passenger-side window while smoking a cigarette. My roommate and my roommate’s father didn’t say a word about it. When the mom did roll down the window, she would only crack it about an inch. I was the only one of the four who didn’t smoke — well, I didn’t smoke cigarettes — so inhaling cancer risks was (apparently) only bothering me.
To this day, I don’t know why I chose to be silent, but I buried my head in my shirt and closed my eyes, just waiting for this chain-smoking lady to be done. It was the longest eight-hour drive to our school, and I refused to ride with her parents again. I loathe the smell of cigarettes and always distance myself from someone smoking, including my photo tech retail days when I’d stay away from the adjacent breakroom where the smokers hung out.
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The irony is if I see somebody smoking a Black & Mild cigar, I stop, inhale and enjoy the aroma. Why? On my walk home from high school, my first boyfriend would occasionally be sitting on his front porch and smoking that brand of cigar.
Decades later, I admittedly still smile and think of his handsome face holding that Black & Mild cigar. This is troubling. It proves how enticing menthol cigarettes, and other fruity and minty flavors, are. Cigars and cigarettes, which can lead to lung cancer, should not smell pleasant. Still, the fact that I cringe when I smell any other type of cigarette or cigar but that one makes me grudgingly relate to why smokers are oblivious to how much tobacco trash reeks inside and outside. If you like the scent (or the results), it probably won’t bother you.
I pondered on that while reading a recent Reddit post about an unhappy homeowner who is having trouble relaxing in the gazebo and backyard. Both reek of cigarette smoke from the neighbor’s house. While the homeowner admitted that “ganja” would be way more tolerable, this person clearly feels how I feel about cigarette smells. So, what is a homeowner to do when the neighbor has a right to smoke in his own yard? What are the best ways to get rid of cigarette smells in your own yard?
Property managers and homeowners may not care what the American Lung Association has to say
According to the American Lung Association, “Patios and balconies of individual units should be included in the smoke-free policy. Outdoor smoking areas should be at least 25 feet away from entrances/exits, windows and ventilation intakes to a building if possible to avoid smoke drifting back into the building.”
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But this gets tricky for first-floor condo tenants and owners (or apartment dwellers) whose windows are facing an area where other residents gravitate to smoke, such as a small stoop, a stairway or a deck. For condo associations or homeowners’ associations, owners may want to share their displeasure with the COA or HOA board to see if this smoking distance can be implemented in the Rules & Regulations or bylaws. (Changing the bylaws with the city is much more expensive than annual or biannual R&Rs.) It’ll probably make an enemy of the smoker, but it could also be a relief for non-smokers’ health.
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If a rule book doesn’t resolve it (or the COA or HOA is full of rebelling smokers), here are seven other ideas.
1. Plant aromatic flowers.
In addition to being pretty, some flowers (ex. chocolate flowers, gardenias, jasmine, lavender, lilac) can have smells that make a backyard smell like everything from cocoa to calming — and be a mosquito repellent too. Lemon balm, mint or rosemary are a few aromatic herb options that may add a more enticing yard smell too.