neighbor's smoking

My three year old son has eczema.
I have a neighbor who smokes in his backyard and I can smell the smoke when I open my window.
Some say that since the cigarette smoke travels upward, what I smell is just an odor and the actual smoke traveling to my house won't be much.
Is it true that smelling a cigarette odor does not mean that cigarette smoke reached me?
I am not going to leave the window open all the time even though the anwer to the above is yes, but
I want to know the answer so that I don't panic every time I smell a cigarette (this is so stressful).

[myenzoorka]

I can understand your worry about cigarette smoke.  If you can smell the smoke, there is bound to be some of the harmful chemicals coming along with it.  But, unless your window is 5 feet or less from where your neighbor is smoking, the smoke coming into your window is very diluted.  

The truth is, you're probably exposing yourself and your son to more chemicals from air pollution than the traces of cigarette smoke that make it into your window. Cigarette smoke has a horrible smell that you'll notice, but since the air pollution is something you breathe every day, you don't notice a smell from it.  There's no need to panic about this, but you definitely don't want that smell in your house.  I would recommend trying to find a way to compromise with your neighbor.  Maybe he can smoke elsewhere in his yard so the smoke doesn't come directly into your window - or maybe he can give you an auditory clue to let you know it's time to shut your window until he's done.