Letter to the Editor:
As a longtime resident of Burbank, I never expected that I’d be forced to breathe in toxic air inside my own home. But that’s exactly what I — and many of my neighbors — have been enduring for years due to secondhand smoke seeping into our condo units from adjacent residences. The smoke drifts through vents, walls, shared shafts, and other structural gaps in our building. No matter how many air purifiers I buy or windows I seal, the smoke keeps entering my home. And with it comes headaches, sore throats, and the constant worry of what it’s doing to my long-term health — and my child’s.
After years of struggling, I spoke in detail with the Burbank Police Department. Their response was straightforward: there’s nothing they can do unless the City of Burbank passes an ordinance banning in-unit smoking in multi-family housing. That is both alarming and unacceptable. Residents like me are left without recourse, forced to either live in a toxic environment or leave our homes — simply because someone else is choosing to smoke indoors in a shared building.
This isn’t about personal preference. It’s about public health.
According to the CDC, secondhand smoke causes more than 41,000 deaths in the U.S. every year. It increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, asthma attacks, and sudden infant death syndrome. There is no safe level of exposure — and yet, thousands of people across California, including here in Burbank, are involuntarily exposed to it every day inside their own residences.
The science is overwhelming and long-settled:
The U.S. Surgeon General has declared that secondhand smoke causes disease and premature death in nonsmoking adults and children.
The California Air Resources Board classifies secondhand smoke as a toxic air contaminant, in the same category as diesel exhaust.
According to Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center, chemical residue from smoking (even long after the smoke is gone) can reduce property values by up to 30%.
Burbank has been a leader in so many areas of public safety — but in this one, we are falling behind. Cities like Pasadena, Santa Monica, Berkeley, and Manhattan Beach have already passed comprehensive ordinances banning smoking in multi-unit housing. Why can’t we?
Help me urge the Burbank City Council to act now. Enact a clear, enforceable ban on smoking in multi-unit buildings. Give residents the ability to breathe clean air in the homes they work hard to afford. Protect our kids, our elders, our immunocompromised neighbors — and every person who simply wants to live without being poisoned by someone else’s addiction.
Until then, we are trapped — not only by smoke, but by a lack of action.
Jason Wright
Burbank
