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Smoke-free Policies Protect Residents from Secondhand Smoke and Smoking-Related Fires

March 23, 2018

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Smoke-free multiunit housing is a growing trend throughout the country and Florida. For property managers and landlords, smoke-free policies can have economic benefits. Many properties have very successfully marketed their smoke-free policy as an amenity, not a restriction. Smoke-free policies can save money by eliminating the need to repair or replace carpeting, floors, fixtures, countertops or appliances damaged by burns or nicotine stains. At the end of a lease, smoke-free units require less turnover time due to less preparation and repainting needs.

Tobacco smoke can move along air ducts, through cracks in the walls and floors, through elevator shafts, and along plumbing and electrical lines affecting units that are nearby. Therefore, there are also numerous benefits for residents as tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, hundreds of which are toxic and at least 70 known to cause cancer. Exposure, even for short periods of time, can be dangerous.

The following are some of the reasons why it’s critical to protect tenants from exposure to secondhand smoke:

  • Secondhand smoke exposure is causally linked to heart disease, stroke, several cancers, lower respiratory illness, and impaired lung function.
  • Each year, among U.S. nonsmokers, exposure to secondhand smoke causes an estimated 33,000 premature deaths from heart disease and about 3,400 premature deaths from lung cancer.
  • Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and their risk of developing lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent.
  • Secondhand smoke can trigger an asthma attack. A severe asthma attack can put a child’s life in danger.
  • In the first two years of life, children exposed to secondhand smoke have more than a 50 percent increased risk of getting bronchitis and pneumonia.
  • Infants exposed to secondhand smoke are at a greater risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is the sudden, unexplained, unexpected death of an infant in the first year of life. SIDS is the leading cause of death in otherwise healthy infants.

Secondhand smoke is not the only danger associated with tobacco use at home. Smoking-related fires are the leading cause of fire deaths in residential buildings. These fires are eight times more likely to result in death than fires that start from another source. Smoking-related fires in residential buildings result in an average of approximately 320 deaths, 675 injuries, and $255.8 million in property loss each year.

For more information about smoke-free housing options or for free assistance with making your community smoke-free, contact Tobacco Free Collier, 239-252-6852.