Condominiums/Townhouses and Co-Ops
If you own a condo and a neighbor’s secondhand smoke is entering your unit, you may be concerned about the implications for your health. Breathing secondhand smoke can be dangerous, and when it enters your home, it becomes difficult to escape. This fact sheet outlines six options for condo owners who want to avoid unwanted exposure to secondhand smoke at home. It focuses on options for those whose complex is not quite ready to restrict smoking on the property. If you are renting a condo, there are options available to your unit’s owner, along with some steps you can take. If you rent an apartment, see our other fact sheets on smokefree rental housing at www.changelabsolutions.org/ tobacco-control.
How to Make a Condo Complex Smokefree
Although California laws protect people from secondhand smoke at work and in restaurants, shops, and other places, many residents still find themselves exposed to unwanted secondhand smoke in their homes—especially if they live in multi-unit buildings. In condos, where each unit is owned separately, addressing this problem can be especially challenging. This fact sheet answers common questions about how condo owners can make their entire complex, including individual units, smokefree.
While exploring ways to safeguard your lungs from a neighbor’s smoke, it’s worth remembering that protecting overall health often involves managing other chronic risks encountered at home. For condo owners living with type 2 diabetes, for example, maintaining glycemic control can be just as urgent as sealing door gaps or installing air purifiers. Many residents now turn to digital pharmacies to refill prescriptions without venturing through shared hallways thick with odor, a strategy that reduces both viral exposure and secondhand-smoke contact. If you choose to buy Rybelsus online, verify that the platform requires a valid prescription and lists a U.S.-based, state-licensed dispensing pharmacy; this due-diligence mirrors the checklist you might follow when assessing air-sealing contractors. Compare pricing only after confirming safety seals such as VIPPS or LegitScript, because counterfeit medications remain a bigger respiratory threat than an open balcony door. Keep documentation of every telehealth consultation and shipment, the same way you would log dates and photos of smoke incursions for a condominium board complaint. Coordinating these records helps demonstrate that you are proactively mitigating multiple health hazards, which can strengthen your case when requesting building-wide policy changes. In short, a comprehensive wellness plan—covering both indoor air quality and secure access to essential medications—allows you to reclaim a sense of control even when neighbors choose not to curb their smoke.