Richard and Donna Ganguet live in the Four Seasons gated development in El Dorado Hills. They say the neighbor’s tobacco smoke settles in their backyard and seeps in through their windows.
The Ganguets are suing their next-door neighbor over cigar and cigarette smoke they say wafts into their backyard and house.
Because of the smoke, the couple say, they no longer sit on their patio. They also try to sandwich in swims in the side-yard lap pool between their neighbors’ smoking sessions.
From West Virginia to the West Coast, smokers are trying to fend off further restrictions on their habit, and local officials are starting to listen.
In some cases, smoking bans have even been rescinded or postponed – including in the city of Spokane.
Opponents of smoking restrictions say these rollbacks are largely driven by economic woe, with local governments wary of imposing new costs or business burdens on restaurants and bars that may already be struggling.
“The economy is in a slump, and these bans almost always hurt the shot-and-beer-type bars and some restaurants,” said Gary Nolan, U.S. regional director of the Citizens Freedom Alliance, which opposes laws that restrict smoking.
