Cigarette smoke

[Gettingbysomehow]

I just don't know what to do. I moved into a smokers house because it was cheap and it took me three years to get rid of the stink. I had to replaster and paint every surface,
I'd just got to the point where my house smelt amazing, always nice and I've been using Purdy and Figg so lovely smell of natural essential oils everywhere.
I'm allergic to cigarettes, they give me migraines and make me feel really rough.
Then a new neighbour moved in next door. I live in a terraced house which is all I can afford.
They must smoke about 60 a day ready made cigarettes which are the worst.
My house smells like an ashtray 24/7, I opened my wardrobe which is built in and attached to the wall their side and every single one of my shoes and clothes stinks of fags.
They smoke in their bedroom so my bedroom stinks too. I have a permanent stinking headache because of my allergy, I,m at home full time waiting for a hip replacement so I have nowhere to go.
I am absolutely desperate - anyone got any ideas. Is it illegal for them to pollute a neighbours house.

Oh my God cigarette smoke is the WORST smell and so difficult to get rid of.

But unfortunately what they're doing is perfectly legal.

They can do what they want in their own home. Pretty sure you'd have to actually be standing next to an item while smoking to make it smell, as in the same room 🤔. Also you're not allergic, strong smells can trigger headaches/ migraines, it's not an allergy.

It would force me to move house.....

I've got the same issue but my neighbour smokes weed rather than just cigarettes. My house smells like a junkies jockstrap but the police say nothing they can do, even though it's a class B drug and illegal (make it make sense?!) so really for someone smoking legal cigs there's likely nothing anyone can do. Is your wardrobe lined? We found the main smell permeates through the boiler cupboard which doesn't have carpet in / is just floorboards so we're going to try line that, silicone up gaps in the skirting. Our only silver lining is the landlord has the house up for sale, but it's so ridiculously overpriced I doubt it's going to sell soon.

God that's awful. I'm so sorry. Could a builder advise on making the walls more smell-proof? Not even sure if that's a thing or if you have funds to do it (I know you can improve sound-proofing).

Wow - there's pedantic, and there's this

So you think the OP is making this up?

Techincally - you can get Allegic headaches...

Allergic headaches can cause a variety of symptoms, including:
Pain: A dull or throbbing pain in the forehead, temples, cheeks, or nose. Pain can also be felt in the upper teeth or jaw.
Pressure or fullness: A feeling of pressure or fullness in the head, cheeks, forehead, or around the nose.
Other symptoms: Nasal congestion, sneezing, itchy or watery eyes, fatigue, irritability, or difficulty concentrating.
Pain worsens: Pain can worsen when bending over or lying down.
Sensitivity: Sensitivity to light, noises, and smells.

Allergic headaches can be caused by swollen sinus cavities, which can block the openings into the nose and cause pressure to build up. Allergies can be triggered by common substances like pollen, dust, mold, and pet dander.

Don't try an tell me what's an allergy and what isn't. I am allergic to cigarettes and have other symptoms too which I do not intend listing here for your benefit. Don't tell me...you smoke hence the strop. Smokers are always defensive of their disgusting filthy habit.

Are you sure the smell isn’t in your nose - can be a sign of a medical problem - or do you know they are chain smokers?

Oh I sympathise with you OP.
I've moved twice because of cigarette smoke and fumes from neighbours coming into my home and making it impossible to live there. I developed an allergy to nicotine and even now the slightest whiff of cigarette smoke affects me visibly.
I don't know where you live. I know that some states of the US , and also Australia take this problem very seriously. In the UK in theory the Environmental health department of the local council have powers to intervene in situations such as yours. It's classed as Nuisance. In practice there is very little they will actually do: or at least that was my experience.
The first time I had the problem I involved the Environmental health and after a lot of insistence they eventually let me use one of their machines for measuring air quality in my home. They told me the results of the monitoring , which were frightening. But still wouldn't act. The officer I was dealing with told me they had an ever increasing number of complaints about neighbours and cigarette fumes. And the council's policy was to resist getting involved despite there supposed statutory obligaton to do so.
So I moved. And then had the same problem at my new house- my now heightened responses to the fumes and nicotine made it worse. This time I didn't bother with Environmental health. I just moved.
So I'm really sorry OP I can't be helpful. Other than to say you could contact the Environmental health department and make a complaint.

You are wrong. Allergy to nicotine is a very real thing. There is scientific evidence to support this.
People are allergic to the chemicals in the fumes. Not the smell.

I will just have to talk to him. I'm a pretty reasonable person and he is a nice man so I'm sure we can have a reasonable conversation about it.
I have no idea where the smell is coming in but it certainly is. The stink is very strong when I'm lying in bed. The problem is all of the options are going to be too expensive for me right now. I've been on half pay for 5 months becsuse I'm not able to work until my surgery.
Builders are going to cost a fortune. An air purifier that can tackle this problem costs £400, I could burn incense all day but it isn't good for my cats lungs or mine. I already have lung problems from working in an orthotics laboratory for years before proper safety regulations were mandatory. He has three cats who are beautiful and friendly and often come to visit. Those poor animals must have to breathe it in all day.
It should be illegal to smoke anywhere in my view.

He's been over a few times to discuss drains and he absolutely reeks of cigarettes definitely not my imagination. His house smells of it too.

I think you’re right and talking to him is your only option because he’s not doing anything he isn’t entitled to do.

The fumes can come in through the tiniest of cracks . Travelling along the cavities of electric cables etc. I investigated the possibility of trying to get my home proofed from the fumes but all the advice is it won't solve the problem. Similarly air purifiers don't work because of the tiny particles of the chemicals in the fumes.
The only solution to make your home safe from the cigarette fumes is for your neighbours not to smoke indoors.
Btw incense might make things smell better but it is also an irritant to your lungs and won't be helping them at all. It's just more chemicals .

Poor you, OP. This must be absolutely foul.

There is obviously an issue with your party wall. Possibly the mortar has degraded or there are gaps around electrics.you might want to get a surveyor in, or appeal to your neighbour to not smoke in the rooms on the party wall?

I think if it's not illegal I'm just going to have lobby my MP. I think people are more and more not prepared to tolerate cigarette smoke. It's not going to be tomorrow but it will be banned eventually as it should be.
And to anyone who defends smoking I usually work in the vascular department and we see people...smokers primarily, who come in and have bits chopped off because their flesh has died and come in every single year to have more bits chopped off until there is nothing left yet still they continue to smoke.

If he's smoking inside his home you can't try and stop him. If he was doing it outside and it was blowing into your windows then you could ask him to do it elsewhere.
I can hardly believe the smoke smell would permeate through the walls, into your wardrobe and into your clothes? Even in my house where smoking only happens in certain rooms, the other rooms don't smell of smoke? I guess if you hate the smell you're more sensitive to it.
I'm sorry as I don't really know the solution. But I feel bad for you.

He may well be sympathetic but I doubt he'll stop. It's in his own home.

All you can do, if your funds are limited, is see if there's anywhere obvious it's coming through and try a DIY option. Smoke does not travel through solid brick, (even though some on here would disagree!). It's just not possible. So there's going to be gaps somewhere.

Totally agree with you about smoking OP btw.
I can't think of a single positive thing about it. If smokers want to kill themselves smoking fair enough. But they kill other people with the second hand and third hand smoke. And expect the NHS to spend time and money on them when it's self inflicted damage.

and come in every single year to have more bits chopped off until there is nothing left

Slight exaggeration but I feel your frustration!

However, like many addicts I imagine those poor people despair at the hold it has over them.

But that's a bit of a tangent really, as it's your neighbour's smoke that's affecting you, so I agree you might appeal to his better nature if you have a polite word with him.

I think the trouble is since smoking is banned indoors (public) we are no longer nose blind to it

It used to be everywhere, but a lot people didnt notice as it was all the time, now its not, its much more noticable than before

(just my viewpoint)

Think very carefully before you “say” something to him. If it’s about finding gaps in party walls then fine. If it’s “please stop doing a perfectly legal activity as it’s affecting my mental and physical health” (sorry, very simplistic) then beware. Neighbour disputes have begun with much less and are often impossible to end.

If it really is affecting you that much, could you rent your house out and move somewhere short term? Again, very simplistic, but it does sound like you’re at the end of your tether.

@HecatesBees yeah, you could be right. I mean I smoke cannabis mixed with tobacco, which obviously has it's own smell. And only in certain rooms. I don't like the smell of pure tobacco smoke which might surprise some people. My mate chain smokes cheap fags when he comes round and it does linger for quite a while.
I think when people smoked in pubs etc they actually smelled more pleasant sometimes than just sweaty beery pissy smell? 🤣

https://ash.org.uk/uploads/Smokedrift-in-the-home-and-workplace-Factsheet-Jan-2022.pdf?v=1665670071
You might find this interesting and helpful OP.

I used to live next door to weed smokers and my house smelt awful and I had a baby so you have my sympathy