I would certainly like to be able to take a stronger line on smoking within the building, but the law and its interpretation seem vague at present. I submit the following, which I included in my submission to the current review of the NSW Strata Act:
“Section 117 of the Act should be amended in a way that smoking is unequivocally defined as a 'nuisance or hazard' for its purposes. Consequent specific model by-laws should be developed to allow Strata Plans to prohibit smoking by any person in enclosed common areas — or throughout the site. There should also be a requirement that persons smoking within apartments (including on open balconies and the like) should do so only in a manner that does not create a 'nuisance or hazard', with the burden of proof (that they have not created such a 'nuisance or hazard') resting with the smokers in the event of a dispute.
Ultimately, I would like to see all strata buildings defined as smoke-free, but the community — even the non-smoking majority on my own EC — is probably not quite ready for it — yet.