Cancer Council survey: Victorians want an apartment smoking ban

SHOULD you be able to smoke in your apartment, on the balcony or in the stairwell? Most Victorians support a ban on lighting up in shared areas.

Megan Gourlay lost a sibling to cancer and worries about the effect that second-hand smoke is having on her health. Picture: David Crosling

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ONE in five Victorians is being exposed to second-hand smoke at home, and the maj­ority of people support a ban on lighting up in shared areas in apartment blocks or units.

A Cancer Council survey of 4000 people has found 18 per cent of Victorians had been exposed to smoke drift in the previous week.

It found 85 per cent of people surveyed supported a ban on lighting up in shared corridors, stairwells or laundries.

Second-hand smoke has been linked to heart disease and lung cancer in adults, and it puts babies at risk of sudden infant death syndrome, lower birth weight, respiratory infections, and more frequent and severe asthma attacks among children.

Megan Gourlay has written a submission for an inquiry into smoking laws. Picture: David Crosling

Quit Victoria advises that the more a person is exposed to smoke, the higher their risk.

Quit Victoria director Dr Sarah White said high-­density living had many rules, including whether residents could have pets and the location of airconditioning units, yet nothing to address smoke drift, making it difficult for owners’ corporations to deal with complaints.

For two years, Megan Gourlay lived above a neighbour who smoked on a balcony, forcing her to keep her ­windows and doors closed to stop smoke drifting into her home.

After exhausting all the processes available to her, she moved out of the apartment she owned.

The Port Melbourne resident lost a sibling to cancer and worries about the health effects that second-hand smoke is having on her health and those who visit her ­apartment.

“Smokers living in apartments believe it is their right to do as they please within their own lot,” she said.

“For nonsmokers, our right to live in our home and not have our health and wellbeing affected is currently being violated by smokers and smoke drift.”

Consumer Affairs Victoria is reviewing the laws that could make smoke drift a nuisance or hazard. Any recommended changes will be considered by parliament in 2018.

Quit and the Heart Foundation want multi-unit dwellings to be smoke-free as a default.

Owners’ corporations would have a legal obligation to ensure smoke did not penetrate other people’s homes or common areas, but retain the power to adopt other rules if they wanted.

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