(Reason 1) First, make sure that your roommate understands why cigarette smoke is a problem for you. Don’t forget to remind her that you are grateful that she was willing to only smoke in her bedroom with the windows open, but you did not realize that you could still smell the smoke. Let your roommate know that for some people cigarette smoke makes it hard to breathe and it is very uncomfortable to be around cigarette smoke. I am like that, when I am around people who are smoking it is very hard from me to breathe and it is painful for me. Research shows that second hand smoke, just being around smoking, is also very bad on people’s health and you could remind your roommate of that too.
(Reason 2) Second, make sure that your roommate knows that you love being her roommate. Tell her that you feel so lucky that you get to live with your best friend and you do not want that to change. Remind her that the three years that you have lived together has been wonderful and that you get along perfectly. Hopefully the two of you can have a good discussion of how much you mean to each other and how much you have done for each other. Help your roommate understand that because you care so much about her that this makes this problem so hard and important to not only you but to her. You want to live in a comfortable and healthy environment, and you want her to live in a place that she also feels is comfortable and healthy too.