Hi Everyone,
I am worried about second-hand cigarette smoke from my neighbour. My baby is 4 months' old and I am on maternity leave.
I live in a flat within a converted old house. I'm tied into a contract until June 2020. My neighbour stays inside his flat 24 hours a day 7 days a week and only leaves for a few minutes occasionally to buy more cigarettes and alcohol. He is a chain smoker.
He used to only smoke inside the building and not open his windows. The smoke would fill the inside of my flat through the communal hallway, the floorboards, any random holes and through the plumbing! I had a chat with him and as a compromise he's since been smoking indoors throughout the day and then sits outside and smokes from 7pm until 9am-ish. He's out there the whole night. This helps in that my flat doesn't fill with as much smoke during the night (which I guess is the most important thing for SIDs, etc.) but it means I can't open my windows throughout the night or in the morning because then my flat fills with smoke from the outside! I'm still unable to bath my baby in the bathroom before 7pm because that's where the majority of his indoor smoke comes from.
I asked my landlord if he'd fill in the gaps and he said no, so I paid for this work myself. It didn't help too much. I bought a £400 air purifier which I keep next to my baby's cot, which I hope does something. I have bought a large ground sheet which I'm going to put up to almost heighten the outdoor fence between me and my neighbour, hoping that more smoke will be forced upwards into the air and less into my flat!
I wouldn't get so upset if my neighbour was a 'normal smoking neighbour' (i.e. at work 9-5 and at home smoking say 6-12) because then we'd get some relief from the smoke, but sadly this isn't the case. I smell fresh and stale smoke every minute that I am home, so my baby must be too. My baby's health is obviously way down my neighbour's priority list - I can't expect him to change his lifestyle for my baby (although I secretly wish he would). He's otherwise a nice guy and keeps himself to himself.
Can anyone help?
- Do I have a right to be concerned? Is this enough to affect my baby's health?
- Am I worrying over nothing and should I chill out? Will the amount my baby breathes in do no or minimal harm? Does anyone know the science?!
- Does anyone have any advice on what more I can do to keep the smoke away from the property?
- Does anyone have any other advice?!
Thank you,
Danielle x