OTTAWA -- It seems smoking really has become taboo.

It's banned in city buildings, bars, restaurants, many parks and even some Canadian city streets.

But many Ottawa residents are still being fumigated in their own homes by neighbours puffing away in adjacent apartments.

The Ottawa Council on Smoking and Health is urging landlords to consider making their buildings smoke free. Owners of several large apartment complexes in Winnipeg and Halifax have already done so.

"Here in Ottawa, we haven't come very far at all," said council president Pippa Beck. "Landlords have to put the policy in their lease or it's too hard to police."

Most Canadian households won't let people smoke inside, so why should apartments and condos be any different?, Beck asked.

"I remember when I was a kid our neighbour used to come over with her ashtray and bottle of sherry and smoke her brains out. My mother would never allow that now," she said.

"Those people you see standing on the deck in January, they're not nature lovers."

Beck said there's a demand for apartments and condos filled with fresh air.

"It's kind of funny to call it a niche when it's more like a yawning chasm," she said.

One researcher has determined 65% of the air in apartment units comes from another unit, Beck said.

'PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS'

"Tenants who are involuntarily exposed to second-hand smoke in their own homes suffer from serious health problems and tremendous psychological stress. Meanwhile, landlords can spend two to three times more money cleaning, maintaining, and repairing smoke- and fire-damaged apartment units compared to non-smoking units."

The problem is often worse in older buildings with cracks, gaps and inadequate ventilation.

"Landlords need to take responsibility and fix things up, but smoke always finds its way in. If you can smell the other person's cooking, then you know other stuff is getting in too."

This week is National Non-Smoking Week and on Weedless Wednesday -- a day when smokers are encouraged not to light up -- a new law will come into effect in Ontario that makes it illegal to smoke with children under 16 in a vehicle.

"It's an enclosed environment and there is a smoke concentration that's at smoky-bar levels," Beck said. "Obviously people want what's best for their kids and this sends a strong message."

Beck vows to keep spreading the message that second-hand smoke can work its way into a unit from a neighbour's patio or balcony through electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, ventilation systems, and through cracks around windows, floors, ceilings and walls.

The gases and particles from tobacco smoke that are absorbed by carpets, drapery, and furniture also pose a serious health risk.

"We're not asking government to force landlords to go non-smoking, we're just asking for a choice, we know there's a demand in the marketplace."