DR. WALLACE: I'm a girl who just turned 16 and I take my health very seriously. I watch what I eat, I work out and I try to drink clean water and always breathe fresh air.

Lately I have a problem with the last one: breathing clean air. My older brother is 19 and he still lives at home with our parents, my younger sister and me. Some nights I can smell smoke coming under the door of my room! It's not only gross, but I know for sure it's super unhealthy for me to be breathing his secondhand smoke. In fact, on some websites I've visited, they say that inhaling secondhand smoke can at times be even more dangerous than smoking a cigarette directly.

I first confronted my brother directly about this smoking in his room, which is right next to mine. He tried to brush me off and lied to me by saying that he's never smoked in the house. But I know for sure he did because the first night I smelled the smoke, I went out in the hall to see where it was coming from. I got down on my hands and knees and smelled it coming from under the closed door to his room!

I don't want to "tell" on him, but he keeps doing this. I don't even think my parents know that he smokes at all, but he definitely does. Should I just leave a window open in my room or should I say something to my parents? It's cold here in the winter, so opening a window in my room at night will cause my room to get cold really fast. — Don't Want Smoke Exposure, via email

DON'T WANT SMOKE EXPOSURE: I would tell your parents about this matter immediately! You have already given him a chance to stop this unacceptable behavior and he has denied his actions and lied to you.

Your parents should be aware of this issue not only to protect you and your health, but also to protect your entire family. Smoking in a bedroom at night is a very dangerous activity since it's possible that the smoker could fall asleep with a lit cigarette still burning and that could cause a fire.

Many people over the years have suffered injuries and even death due to fire caused by a burning cigarette that came into contact with flammable materials nearby. It's up to your parents to confront him and get to the bottom of this issue, so once you inform them of what is going on, I trust they will take up the matter quickly from there to get it resolved.

IS IT STRONGER THESE DAYS?

DR. WALLACE: I like to smoke cannabis and I'm old enough in our state to do so legally. My father lectures me all the time to be careful not to smoke too much. He feels that if I overdo it, I'll pay a price for that.

He also says to be really careful since "pot" is much more potent these days than it was back in the early 1980's "in his day." Is this true? — I Like to Smoke, via email

I LIKE TO SMOKE: If you've been reading here for any length of time, you know that I don't advise anyone to smoke any substance at all due to the harm smoke and impurities cause the human lungs.

There is no doubt that technology and growing methods have advanced greatly with cannabis products over the decades. I'm admittedly no expert in this field but I would not be surprised if certain strains these days are far more potent than what used to be sold on the streets illegally during the latter part of the last century.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: brenkee at Pixabay