It was the first time since I lived on my own that I came away from a resident meeting feeling a sense of anticipation. I also felt that, at long last, something was about to be done to greatly reduce my stress level.

When the CEO met with us in August, the topic he kept coming bacmk to was the smoking problems reported to him by staff and residents. At first, I was afraid that, like last year, he’d get mad at us—as if reporting a health cdoncern was our fault or something. Instead, he was irritated at the individuals who didn’t abide by the nonsmoking policy. He even allowed us to voice further concerns—so the one woman said how certain visitors had been turned away due to the smell of cigarettes in the building.

Technically, the building has been nonsmoking since 2009. The original policy, which I recently signed (but only got a copy of this year, as did my neighbors) clearly states the building is **off *limits, and that anyone smoking must go to “a designated outside area.”

A concession was made, at the time, to allow smokers to use the sixth floor balcony “in inclement weather.” Unfortunately, there were those who abused the rule (plus there was the fact that the smoke wafted indoors to the apartments close by, and in the lobby area).

Solution? No more balcony concession.

The policy states that using any portion of the building makes it difficult to filter the air and keep it at a certain quality (also, the effects of ETS—Environmental Tobacco Smoke—are discussed in length).

I was, and still am, very excited about this.

Another thing the CEO said at that August meeting was that he was consulting legal council, and if he could evict he would.Then, after about three reports in a row, I learned that my next-door neighbor would soon be gone. I thought: Coincidence? Don’t think so. (The document confirmed it for me, without being told that she was evicted for blatantly disobeying the policy.

To me, a policy’s in place (some of the time, and I would hope in most cases) to protect the safety/health of others. As someone has said, “if you want to endanger your own life, that’s on you, but I’m not going to let you do it to me.”