Why Smoking in an Elevator Is Considered the Most Dangerous Place

An elevator is not just a small space — it is a low-ventilation, high-density environment. Most elevators have minimal air exchange with the outside; they rely on tiny ventilation fans that move air at a snail’s pace. When the doors close, you are essentially sealed in a metal box with whatever is in the air.

In a typical 5 cubic metre elevator (the size of a small commercial lift), the concentration of toxins rises to alarming levels within seconds. Let’s calculate the concentration of carbon monoxide (CO) as an example:

• 📈 CO from one cigarette: A single cigarette produces about 10-15 mg of carbon monoxide.
• 📉 Space volume: 5 m³ = 5,000 litres.
• 📊 Concentration: 15 mg in 5,000 L = 3 mg/m³ = approximately 2.5 ppm (parts per million).
• ⚠️ Safe exposure limit (Health Canada): 5 ppm for 8-hour exposure for non-smokers. But in an elevator, you’re exposed to peak concentrations that are much higher before mixing.

While 2.5 ppm CO is not immediately dangerous, remember that CO is just one of over 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke. The combined effect — the “toxic soup” — is what makes elevator smoking so dangerous.

Particulate matter (PM2.5) — microscopic particles small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream — is perhaps the most dangerous component of secondhand smoke. In an elevator, PM2.5 concentrations spike dramatically:

• 📊 Before a cigarette: Background PM2.5 is typically 5-15 µg/m³ in a clean indoor environment.
• 📈 During a cigarette: Within 60 seconds, PM2.5 can exceed 500 µg/m³ near the smoker.
• ⚠️ After the cigarette: Particles remain suspended in the air for minutes to hours, depending on ventilation. In a low-ventilation elevator, they linger.
• 🫁 The health impact: PM2.5 exposure is linked to cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, lung cancer, and premature death. Even short-term exposure (minutes to hours) can trigger heart attacks in susceptible individuals.

Many people assume that smoking in a car is similar to smoking in an elevator. This is incorrect. Cars have several advantages over elevators:

• 🌬️ Ventilation: Cars have powerful ventilation fans (even with windows closed). A car’s HVAC system exchanges air much faster than an elevator’s tiny fan.
• 🪟 Windows: In a car, you can open windows to create rapid air exchange. Elevators have no windows.
• ⏱️ Exposure time: Car rides are typically longer (15-60 minutes), but you have control over ventilation. Elevator rides are short (30-60 seconds) but with zero ventilation control.
• ⚠️ The elevator trap: The doors close, you press a button, and you’re stuck. You cannot leave until the doors open. In a car, you can pull over and exit.

Secondhand smoke is bad enough. But elevators create an additional hazard: thirdhand smoke accumulation. Because elevators are cleaned infrequently and have fabric-like surfaces (carpeted floors, padded walls), they absorb and hold nicotine residue.

• 🧽 Residue accumulation: Each cigarette smoked in an elevator deposits tar and nicotine on surfaces. These surfaces are rarely deep-cleaned.
• 🤚 Dermal absorption: A 2010 study found that nicotine can be absorbed through the skin. Touching an elevator button contaminated with nicotine residue exposes you to the addictive chemical.
• 🧪 Chemical reactions: Nicotine on surfaces can react with indoor pollutants (e.g., nitrous acid from cleaning products) to form tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) — potent carcinogens.
• 👶 Vulnerable populations: Children who ride elevators where smoking has occurred are at particular risk. They touch surfaces and put their hands in their mouths.

Beyond the immediate health hazards, smoking in an elevator presents a serious fire risk. Elevator cars and shafts are constructed with materials that can burn, and discarded cigarette butts can ignite trash, carpeting, or hydraulic fluid.

• 🚬 Discarded butts: A smoker in an elevator has nowhere convenient to extinguish a cigarette. Many drop butts on the floor or crush them against walls, creating fire hazards.
• 🏢 The chimney effect: Elevator shafts are vertical passages that can draw fire upward through a building. A small fire in an elevator car can quickly spread to multiple floors.
• 📜 Real incidents: Fire departments across Canada have responded to elevator fires caused by discarded cigarettes. In one 2019 incident in Toronto, an elevator fire forced the evacuation of a 20-story apartment building.
• ⚖️ Legal consequences: In addition to bylaw fines for smoking in an elevator, a smoker who causes a fire can face criminal charges and civil liability.

Smoking in an elevator is not just dangerous — it is illegal. Most Canadian provinces and municipalities explicitly ban smoking in elevators under smoke-free workplace and public space legislation.

• 📜 Ontario’s Smoke-Free Ontario Act: Bans smoking in all enclosed public spaces, including elevators. Fines start at $305.
• 📜 Quebec’s Tobacco Act: Prohibits smoking in common areas of residential buildings, including elevators. Fines up to $1,500.
• 📜 British Columbia’s Tobacco Control Act: Bans smoking in all public places, including elevators in apartment buildings.
• 🩺 Health impact on vulnerable populations: Elevators are used by elderly residents, pregnant women, children, and people with respiratory conditions. For these individuals, even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger asthma attacks, heart palpitations, or allergic reactions.

• 🚫 Exit if possible: If the doors haven’t closed yet, step out. Wait for the next elevator.
• 📞 Report to building management: Most condos and apartment buildings have rules against smoking in common areas. Report the incident with the date, time, and description of the smoker.
• 📸 Document it: Take a photo (discreetly) of the person smoking. Note the time and elevator number.
• 👮 Call bylaw enforcement: If your building management does nothing, contact your municipal bylaw enforcement office. Many cities have dedicated smoking complaint lines.
• 🩺 Protect your health: If you have a respiratory condition (asthma, COPD), carry a mask. Better yet, avoid the elevator entirely — take the stairs if you can.

Native cigarettes (Playfare, Canadian, DuMont, Nexus, Rolled Gold) cost $29-50 per carton — compared to $140-180 for commercial brands — a savings of 70-80%. However, they produce the same smoke, the same toxins, and the same elevator danger as commercial cigarettes.

• 💰 Cost savings: A pack-a-day smoker saves $5,000-7,000 per year by switching to native cigarettes.
• 🚫 No difference in smoke: Native cigarettes contain the same nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter.
• 📦 Online delivery: Cigstore.ca ships to every province and territory with $29 flat shipping (free over $290).
• 🛗 Elevator rule: No matter what brand you smoke, never smoke in an elevator. Step outside the building first.