UAE doctors call for ban on smoking in residential buildings

While some may believe smokers have a 'right' to smoke in their own home — those that share a building are forced to share the air.

Dr Trilok Chand, specialist in respiratory medicine at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi, called for a ban on smoking inside residential buildings. Christopher Pike / The National

ABU DHABI // Doctors have called for a ban on smoking in residential blocks to protect the health of tenants.

Dr Trilok Chand, a specialist in respiratory medicine at Abu Dhabi’s Burjeel Hospital, said both the deadly risk of second-hand smoking and the potential fire hazards from discarded butts meant there should be a blanket ban on smoking in blocks.

He believed that if people were protected from toxic cigarette smoke in public places, it stood to reason that they should also be safeguarded in their homes as well.

“Nowadays, a lot of people are being exposed to second-hand smoke, usually in houses or apartments,” he said. “The second-hand smoke can seep from the walls, any cracks in the floors and the channel from the lift.

“So it can spread everywhere in the apartment or the house.”

Second-hand smoke is harmful to all, but especially those with lung conditions such as asthma or respiratory disease, according to Dr Chand.

“I have many patients with underlying lung disease and they have presented with increased symptoms because they are exposed to second-hand smoke in the home,” he said.

Dr Chand said while some may believe smokers have a “right” to smoke in their home those who shared a building were forced to share the air.

He believed landlords or property management companies should prohibit smoking to protect tenants from second-hand smoke or fire hazards.

“Of course smoking should be stopped in the apartments and in the public areas,” he said. “And there should be designated smoking areas so that people can go and smoke there . These areas should be well ventilated to protect anyone from second-hand smoke.”

In addition to second-hand smoke, residents were also at risk from discarded cigarette butts, said Dr Magdi Mohamed, a consultant in emergency medicine at Burjeel Hospital.

He said dropped butts were an avoidable cause of house and apartment fires.

“It is a big risk for people living there and I think it should be prohibited – the same as in public places. The consequences are just too disastrous,” he added.

“I should recommend it should be prohibited by law.”

Dr Hossameldin Moustafa Hamza Saad, a specialist in pulmonary medicine at LLH Hospital, also said residents in tower blocks should be protected from second-hand smoke.

“It circulates cancer-causing chemicals,” he said. “There is no risk-free level of exposure to second-hand smoke.

“The ventilation systems in apartments and condominiums usually cannot filter the air to eliminate such smoke.”

Dr Saad is treating an asthmatic who developed shortness of breath once she smelt smoke in her apartment building, and he said it showed the harm such an environment can cause for tenants – especially for children.

“Second-hand smoke worsens the asthma symptoms, and triggers sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections and ear problems,” he said. “These effects can last a lifetime.

“Non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke at home also increase their risk of developing lung cancer and stroke by 20 to 30 per cent.

“Breathing second-hand smoke can have immediate adverse effects on your blood and blood vessels, increasing the risk of having a heart attack.”

According to the World Health Organisation, second-hand smoke is one of the most widespread exposures in the indoor environment and its links to respiratory infections, ischemic heart disease, lung cancer and asthma, were long established.

Nevertheless, the WHO said 93 per cent of the world population is still living in countries not covered by 100 per cent smoke-free public health regulations, and exposure to second-hand smoke in the home was still common.