The stink remains even for efficient fires. Smoke is often correlated of course.

I'm in Christchurch, New Zealand which gets winter smog,. The city council enforces rules and woodburners need to meet strict emission standards. They regularly tighten the rules so that if you want a woodburner you need to replace it every 15 years or so.

But they do still smell.

The rules have radically improved the air quality here and we now get much less smog than when I was a kid.

Outright banning open fires and coal years ago made a big difference too.

I'm not sure what happens if you don't follow the rules. A neighbour can make a complaint and there will get taken seriously and I believe they have a van sometimes checking too. Although I've personally never heard of anyone actually getting caught.

People have romantic ideas about heating with fire and burn the most awful green wood in their fireplaces, stinking up the whole neighborhood. I understand burning bad wood because you have no options -- I witnessed a chimney fire or two as a kid that resulted from burning too much wet pine -- but I cannot fathom the mindset of someone who does it recreationally.

“Burning wood at home produces more pollution than road traffic” https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjdne9ke0m1o

“Residential wood-burning is the biggest source of particulate matter and soot/black carbon in Europe” https://www.fern.org/publications-insight/latest-evidence-on...

“domestic wood-burning is the largest source of particulate pollution in the UK. Only 8% of the UK’s homes burn wood, but this accounts for around 21% of the total PM2.5 emissions, whereas all traffic on the UK roads produces 13%” https://medium.com/the-new-climate/why-the-environmental-mov...

> Did you notice how they have banned and demonized tobacco, but the lung cancer rate keeps increasing?

No, I noticed the opposite. They demonized tobacco, and lung cancer rates went dowm precipitously.

i see both sides, having lived with both super sensitive and petty neighbors, and also inconsiderate, loud neighbors.

There are definitely sensitive people who have either misophonia rage, or PTSD from something, and they can't handle normal levels of city noise.

on top of that, some apartments simply allow smoking inside. If they always use the balcony, they're really doing you a favor.

if you are worried about emissions, you really have to think about cars and refineries and jets, and even restaurants. These are incredibly out of control when it comes to pollution and disease.

in my experience, if you're buying machines and building devices, and your target refuses to play that game, then it's clear who the adult is, and who the child is.

> move to a place outside of the city

Now there's an idea I can get behind. Best move I ever made. City living and I just don't mix.

I'm agnostic as to the harms vs. benefits of smoking marijuana, it's the smell that bothers me. I personally love the smell of frankincense, but I would understand if my neighbors objected to me burning it regularly.

Inhaling any particulate seems like a pretty bad idea. I knew a Jamaican guy who thought people were silly for smoking it and said tea was the best. I have no opinion, not my vice of choice.

I don't think I need to read your post history. This message already reads like some one in need of help.

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Only because you're defining one as normal and the other as abnormal.

I don't know man. I once heard the sound of children laughing and having fun, and now I've got kids of my own.

Spoiler alert: the "second degree smoke" thing is bullshit, just like everything else you believe.

You want to have children? Cool. Made a mistake? Deal with it. Don’t make it sound like you are doing others a favour by having children though. “The society” will be fine without them. There are plenty out there nobody cares about.

"The" smoker? There are millions of smokers, including on Hacker News, despite the Religious Police trying to run them off.

The correct question is “have you found a smoker who smokes on a balcony”.

Yeah, it’s simply pissing me off that no person noticed the only abnormal behaviour here is the dude labelling the whole category of human beings as “awful” without trying to understand their motives. Selfish and entitled on a boss level.

Are those who smoke on a top floor balcony also awful? Are those who smoke on a balcony of a multi-storey building they live alone in also awful people?

You haven't mentioned that they:

a) are aware that their smoke isn't dispersed enough by the breeze / open space to be unnoticeable.

b) know there is someone close enough who isn't like them and other smokers, and is really bothered by the smoke.

They do, however, go smoke on their balconies since they were made aware smoking inside is bad for their roommates/family.

So, many of them are more likely than not reasonable people. They _could be_. While you _proved_ that you aren't, by not communicating it (or at least not mentioning it as if it isn't the most important reason why they are "awful people"), just judging them and holding a grudge.

In this very comment you again showed that you don't care enough to understand others who you might disagree with, because I am just rephrasing what I already wrote, since you replied like I didn't.

Yeah, it's a bit worrying that some people don't seem to understand that just because you enjoy smoking, doesn't mean the rest of the units downstream of you want to breath it in too.

I'll remember your hypocrisy next time I see you with the caffeine jitters.

Addict. Seek help, please.

Your ancestors have had many opportunities to leave Hong Kong over the years. They did not, nor have you. If close interaction with people who have different values than you bothers you, then move. There are other places to live in the world besides Hong Kong. You don't have to wage war against your neighbors who are simply trying to enjoy a smoke.