The right not to be annoyed continues to grow:
The Environmental Court in Växjö has banned a woman from smoking in her own garden, Sydsvenkan reports. The 49-year-old single mother is enraged by the decision but says that she will obey the ruling to avoid having to pay a fine.
Earlier this year, The Local reported on the case of a lawyer with an aversion to smoke who sued his neighbour for lighting up in her own back garden. The case eventually ended up at the Environmental Court (Miljödomstolen), which last week sent a delegation to the woman's home.
But the woman, from Åkarp in southern Sweden, refused to allow the two representatives of the court to inspect her property.
"I thought it was crazy. What were they going to do here? This is just ridiculous," she told Sydsvenskan.
The lawyer however was only too pleased to be able to assist the delegates. From his side of the hedge he was able to pinpoint where his neighbour usually chose to smoke her cigarettes.
The delegates proceeded to take meticulous notes, resulting in a scale diagram of the two gardens. According to the court's inspection protocol, the assessment took a total of 40 minutes.
The lawyer also told the court that his sensitivity to cigarette smoke meant he had to wear a breathing mask every time he left his house to walk to the car.
"He walks around with the mask on regardless of whether I'm smoking or not. It used to annoy me but now I don't care any more," the woman told Sydsvenskan.
After reviewing the relevant documentation the court ruled on Monday that most of the woman's garden was now off limits for smoking.
It's really all about public health, right?
