Cigarette smoke constantly drifting in to our bedroom from next door!

[soberton]

Hi
Not sure how best to go about this. We live in a mid terraced bay and forecourt house and the house on one side is rented (it was obviously 'bought to let' so we don't know who actually owns it). The problem is the daughter (aged about 30) of the main tenant has the front bedroom next door to ours and is ALWAYS leaning out of the window smoking and then chucking the butts down into their front forecourt (and sometimes they go over the front wall and into the pavement/gutter). Their forecourt is often a real mess -but in all fairness that's their business! Our problem is that the smoke is always drifting into our bedroom too, not only during the day but also throughout the night (I have an idea that she might do shiftwork of some sort). For instance last night we were woken up by the stench at midnight, 2am and 3.30am. DP suffers from asthma and frequently needs a ventolin inhaler he finds it also helps to have the window open for fresh air flow. At 3.30am this morning I opened the window fully to tell her how the stench from her was disturbing us but she may not have heard me call out (her TV was blaring out too!). By this morning our patience had worn pretty thin as you can imagine! They must be rather thick skinned however, if they can't realise why the window is being slammed shut everytime! It's possible they don't realise how bad the smell is (they're heavy smokers) and when I recently took a parcel in for them, the daughter came to collect it, she absolutely stank out the hallway (mixture of stale smoke & BO). Thanks for reading through this, advice would be appreciated?

I keep a cloth over my nose most ime. you poor thing, this is ridiculous,

as for thickness of smoke I know what you mean. it does build up and if your getting nicotine deposits etc all will be adding to smell.

I read astnishing thing about how many chemicals fill air per cubic meter when filled with smoke, and how much it affects air even up to many meters away.

walking past a smoker or being with one on temp basis is one thing but living every min every hour every day - your a second hand smoker there and its awful.

Personally I'm amazed you sleep with a window open in this weather.. Brrr!

Surely its everyone's right to sleep with window open or shut?

No one should have to close a window due to someone else's actions?

Personally I also have window open a little I am a fan of fresh air.

I don't really know what to suggest because although it's not fair on you she's technically doing nothing wrong. Instead of passive aggressive window slamming why haven't you just spoken to her? She probably has no idea. I know I wouldn't assume smoke is travelling into your home.

WRT to the window being open, the OP was written in June.

FFS. Zombie

FFS

Worra fair enough, I didn't spot this was a zombie thread. I thought there was usually a warning.

I don't smoke, I hate smoking, I hate the way smokers smell. I don't know why anyone does it any more & I wish they'd all just go away.

^^^I totally agree with this, with the addition that all smokers are obnoxious and selfish and disgustingly dirty.

Ahh a nice bit of smoker bashing

I suppose it makes a change from bashing fat people...

ALL smokers windchime

What an idiotic statement.

WorraLiberty, exactly that is what we were told by specialists who came years ago to test our fireplaces in our building because we had this problem with gasfire fumes. They said we have an old building with cracks, certain flues are broken and what happens is fireplaces such air in and can do so through the cracks in floorboards. They lit the firepaces, no smoke went out through the chimneys but all went to us down. What I realise is that stale smoke accumulates and lingers a lot I dont know how to get rid of it. Thanks for the suggestion to speak to the non-emergency services.

OP I really feel sorry. It is very uncomfortable to breath in smoke. Do anyhing to contact again the neighbour politely. ZeVite has a good idea and one needs to try everything.

londonrach I understand you and I feel I need to do the same.

fluffymouse I was googling to find wether people had the same problem with secodary smoking as we do in my flat, so I spotted the thread and revived it.

I have just started a petition to the health secretary regarding smoke drift in the home, which we have been suffering for 7 months:
www.change.org/p/jeremy-hunt-mp-protect-families-from-smoke-drift-in-their-own-home?recruiter=58892690&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=des-lg-no_src-no_msg&fb_ref=Default

Right, so they're awful people, they dare to watch TV at 3.30, they smoke 24/7 and the daughter has BO as well? You don't sound at all judgemental .
How about knocking on the door and saying in a really friendly tone
"hi, I don't know if you realise, but when you lean out of the window smoking, it comes straight in our window, and it affects DP who has asthma"
I am an ex smoker. I used to be mindful of where I smoked and also used to find a bin to put my cigarette ends in.
They may not realise that the smoke is coming in to your window. If I had been told this was the case I would have apologised, and changed my habits.
It would be better to ask them first instead of reporting them to LL or council.

At least its not the smell of cannabis like I get every day and night in my bedroom from the bums that I live next door to! absolutely stinks.

Contacting LL has proven so difficult and we were met with abuse. I'm playing hardball now and have contacted the police. Appreciate that you can't do the same for fags but it is a nuisance and I completey sympathise.

ZOMBIE THREAD!!!!

why is the fact that it is rented germane in any way?
Why not just go round there and talk to them, you know like you would if they owned it?

lindseywakefield can you explain exactly what legislation you are calling for? It's not very clear from your petition.

I don't smoke.

But if I did, by God I would want to do it out my window/back door at wind down points of day eg after work and in evening.

Poor woman. And smokers, they are such the health panto villians. The people addicted to alcohol, drugs or the obese don't get as much vitriol.
will nobody think of the smokers?!

Oh for goodness sake, just tell them what is happening, nicely.

DP and I were smoking somewhere it was going into someone else's house. It honestly hadn't crossed our minds. They told us, we felt embarrassed we'd never realised ourselves, we apologised, and never smoked there again.