Rant about apartment filtration

Some people have moved in the apartment below us, and because of the horrible filtration system in our building it's all too easy to tell they're smoking.
Why? The horrible smell first off. Then it follows that my symptoms are actually getting worse (using the bathroom more and lots of nausea), the smoke sticks to the back of my throat, I can't sleep in my bedroom because the smoke is so bad in there, and I have to sleep with a sweater on my face. My fiance already has respiratory problems, and now he can't breathe. He's coughing ALL the time, and we both have head aches.

We called the office and were told it was faulty filtration, that it shouldn't be happening, and that they would fix it right away.
Here I am on my day off from school before the sun has even risen ranting because nothing has been done.
Smoking is allowed, but that's supposed to be because you shouldn't be forced to smoke with the person in the apartment below you.

I can't breathe, I'm irritated, and after everything that has been going on lately (not even going to get into that) I am really close to my breaking point. I can't eat or sleep, and now this bull.

I swear to whatever deity (or the universe even better) I am out of this apartment if they can't fix this. I can't be breathing in cigarette smoke because of the aforementioned reasons. This isn't even taking into account the other health risks that come with it. AGGGHHHHHHH.

Can you seal off your vents with tape? Etc. It is a fire hazard if you use the wrong though so be careful.
open your windows? I know it is almost winter?
Fans at the windows?
Or tape down fans against your vents?

I guess you just have to keep complaining.  In the city where I live you aren't allowed to smoke in most apartments anymore, which I think it great even though I'm not in an apartment building anymore.

Get yourself an O-zone machine if you are still stuck. They don't look like they could do the job, but they can keep cig smell out pretty well.

I see no recourse for you other than to move. Insist that you get no penalty whatsoever for breaking your lease; if necessary, get letters from your physicians (especially about your boyfriend's respiratory problems!). People who smoke as much as your neighbor is smoking are not going to be reasonable about smoking only outside or near an open window--and it won't help very much. In our condo complex, I get constant complaints from one owner about his downstairs neighbor, who smokes outside on his balcony--but whose smoke blows upstairs and right into the upstairs neighbor's condo. We have an elderly woman who lives here; she smokes so much that you can smell the smoke outside on the walkway around her unit. Whenever I visit her, I have to come home and immediately wash my clothes and take a shower, because I reek of cigarette smoke.

Nomatter what your neighbor agrees to do when you talk to her, anyone that dependent on nonstop smoking won't be able to maintain the control to limit anything about her smoking. It may be difficult, but you need to move--as soon as possible. You'll be so happy that you did!

We had a similar problem before we bought our house. In fact, that was one of the reasons we bought a house. We couldn't get the apartment folks to fix it, or find us another apartment . . . they kept saying they'd fix it, and I am allergic to cigarette smoke - makes me throat close up, and I have difficulty breathing. We complained for a couple of months . . . they'd say they fixed it, but it wouldn't be any different, and then we'd complain again, and it'll take them a while, and they'd say they fixed something else . . . but all to no avail. I really think they were just "saying" that they did something, but in actuality did nothing.

The only thing I managed to do was to guilt them into letting us out of our lease. Even that, I had to threaten with lawyers before they would do that - they kept saying that there's nothing wrong and the building was built per codes, and if I had a problem, that was my problem, not theirs. I think your only recourse is to move. Perhaps your apartment complex would be nice enough to find you another apartment that you can move into.

PV