Q&A: Smoking in a Shared Apartment
Smoking in a Shared Apartment
Question
In a shared apartment, one of the roommates suddenly started smoking. Is he allowed to smoke in the apartment, in his own room, and make the whole house smell because he also lives there, or is that a worsening of the living conditions?
Answer
There are laws of Jewish law that relate to this, and it is forbidden for him to do so as long as he has not established a presumption of doing it. But what matters here is the law, not Jewish law. You should check with a lawyer. Obviously, if it bothers the others, he ought to go outside and smoke.
Discussion on Answer
I meant that in a dispute nowadays, with most people, the law is what determines things, not Jewish law. Though even from the standpoint of Jewish law there is also “the law of the land is the law,” even if one could debate whether that applies here.
Why is Jewish law not important here?