Articles and Links
Secondhand smoke in
Apartments in the United States
April 26, 2016
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Apartments
HUD

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Apartments General

12/19/15 Hints From Heloise: Smoke Gets in Your Home Washington Post When someone smokes inside or on patios and balconies, the smoke fills the surrounding apartment homes.
6/22/15

Secondhand Smoke Is Making Us and Our Children Sick

TheRoot.com African Americans, poor people, children and people who rent their home are more likely to encounter secondhand smoke in their environment.

10/8/14 CDC: Banning Smoking in Public Housing Could Save States Millions Centers for Disease Control At a time when public housing agencies are increasingly considering smoking prohibitions, a new study shows that a ban would save nearly $500 million a year.
10/2/14

Smoke-Free Subsidized Housing Could Save Nearly $500 Million

Health Day Making all government-subsidized housing in the United States smoke-free could save nearly half a billion dollars a year in health care and housing-related costs, a new study indicates.
10/29/13 The 30-Minute Interview
Jeffrey I. Brodsky
New York Times
Q. Was it your idea to institute a smoking ban in all your rentals?

10/9/13 Breathe Free MHNOnline The Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently developed two smoke-free toolkits for multifamily housing.
6/28/13 Change in the air: Rental smoking bans Chicago Tribune It's becoming increasingly difficult to be a renter and a smoker.
6/13/13 A Smoking Ban in All Related Companies Rentals New York Times As of this month, the Related Companies has decided that tenants can no longer light up in the 40,000 rental units it owns or manages.
Smoking Banned In Rental Units, Including Terraces, At All Related Properties Gothamist.com One of the nation's biggest landlords is banning smoking in all 40,000 rental units across America.

HUD

11/12/15 Federal Government Wants To Ban Smoking In Public Housing New Hampshire Public Radio Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson talks with Lourdes Castro Ramirez, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Public and Indian Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, about why HUD is proposing the ban, and how it would be enforced.
             Feds move to make public housing a tobacco-free zone McClatchy.com The move would improve resident health and save $153 million annually
            'Ban Smoking' Means 'Evict Defiant Smokers' Bloombergview.com Fabulous cost savings are promised (repaint less often! spend less on health care!).
              HUD SECRETARY CASTRO ANNOUNCES NEW RULE MAKING PUBLIC HOUSING SMOKE-FREE U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Today, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro joined Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in Alexandria, VA to announce a proposed rule to make the nation’s public housing properties entirely smoke-free.
     THIS PROPOSED RULE IS PENDING PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER. PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER WILL COMMENCE THE PUBLIC COMMENT PROCESS

                 HUD Proposal to Make Public Housing Smoke-Free Will Protect the Health of Children and Families Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today has taken historic action to protect our nation’s most vulnerable children and families from harmful secondhand smoke by proposing to make the nation’s public housing properties entirely smoke-free.
                HUD proposes smoking ban TheHil.com Smoking would be prohibited inside public housing units under new rules from the Obama administration.

HUD Floats Smoke-Free Public Housing Rule

Law360.COM The agency called for public comment on the rule, which would require public housing agencies across the country to ban smoking inside and within 25 feet of housing and administrative buildings as a term of residents' leases.
public housing nationwide may be subject to smoking ban TruthInitiative.org The ban, by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, would also require that common areas and administrative offices on public housing property be smoke-free.
7/14/15 2015 HUD SECRETARY'S AWARD FOR HEALTHY HOMES WINNERS ANNOUNCED HUD.gov “From reducing second-hand smoke to improving the lives of children with asthma and allergies, these organizations are leading the way in creating healthy environments for families to thrive,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro.
HUD's Action Plan to Create Smoke-free Multifamily Housing The guide also includes insights from some of the early implementers, referred to as smoke-free pioneers.
4/18/13 Study: Banning smoking in all U.S. subsidized housing would save $521 million annually Syracuse.com This is the first study to estimate the money that could be saved by prohibiting smoking in subsidized housing, including public housing and other rental assistance programs.
4/16/13 Smoking Ban in Federally Subsidized Housing Would Save $521 Million Annually Medical Daily A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that a smoking ban in federally subsidized housing would save an estimated $521 million annually in the United States.
Smoke-free subsidized housing would save $521 million a year WebWire.com The estimated annual cost savings from eliminating smoking in all U.S. subsidized housing would be $521 million, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
12/20/12 Smoke-Free Housing Should be Safe and Secure Legacy Foundation Through our grants and awards initiatives, we have support groups that have successfully worked towards making multi-unit housing smoke-free.
10/4/12 Request for Information on Adopting Smoke-Free Policies in PHAs and Multifamily Housing DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT This notice seeks information and invites public comment
regarding how HUD can best continue to support the implementation of
smoke-free policies for both public housing and multifamily housing.
7/6/12 More Momentum for Smoke-Free Co-ops and Condos, with Help from HUD There is a combined effort on the part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and others to advocate and encourage co-ops, condos and other multifamily buildings to adopt smoke-free policies to protect residents from the dangers of secondhand smoke and to reduce property maintenance costs.
6/19/12 HUD, HHS AND HEALTH GROUPS ANNOUNCE NEW SMOKE-FREE HOUSING TOOLS WASHINGTON - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and heath advocates today launched a new set of tools to encourage and guide private owners of federally assisted multifamily housing and public housing authorities to adopt smoke-free policies to protect residents from the dangers of second-hand smoke and to reduce property maintenance costs.

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Legal

6/19/15

Non-smoking liability and enforcement: The future is upon us New England Real Estate Journal As this brief article will show you, implementing a non-smoking policy for your community can do all of those things: help avoid liability, improve health and save money. Increasingly, we are seeing a rush to change by-laws and rules and regulations to implement non smoking policies at Condominiums and residential Apartment Communities.

Medical

11/1/13 Banning workplace smoking not enough MedicalXpress.com Regulations against smoking in apartment buildings are becoming more widespread and are effective, Huber said. "Many rental and summer rental properties are saying, 'No smoking allowed.'"
Nov/Dec. 2013 Predictors of Voluntary Home-Smoking Restrictions and Associations With an Objective Measure of In-Home Smoking Among Subsidized Housing Tenants American Journal of Health Promotion Purpose. Examine predictors of voluntary home-smoking restrictions (HSRs) and associations with an objective measure of in-home smoking.
09/2013 Policies to Restrict Secondhand Smoke Exposure: American Journal of Preventive Medicine American College of Preventive Medicine Position Statement
12/17/12 Secondhand smoke affects most apartment residents USA Today Nearly 29 million Americans who say they don't smoke in their apartments may still be exposed to secondhand smoke that wafts in from elsewhere in the building, federal researchers report today.
12/14/12 Millions of Nonsmokers Exposed to Smoke From Neighbors' Apartments: Report HealthDay.com As many as 29 million U.S. apartment dwellers who have no smoking rules for their own homes are exposed to secondhand smoke seeping in from neighboring apartments and common areas, federal officials reported Friday.
9/11/12 Secondhand smoke exposure persists in multi-unit housing MedicalExpress.com Researchers led by senior investigator Andrew Hyland, PhD, Chair of the Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), recommend smoke-free building policies to protect all multiunit residents from secondhand smoke exposure in their homes.
12/10/10 Tobacco-Smoke Exposure in Children Who Live in Multiunit Housing American Academy Of Pediatrics OBJECTIVE: There is no safe level of secondhand tobacco-smoke exposure, and no previous studies have explored multiunit housing as a potential contributor to secondhand tobacco-smoke exposure in children.

Military

12/15/12 Air Force expanding smoking restrictions Stars & Stripes The updated regulation specifically excludes on-base housing with independent air-handling systems but allows bases to ban smoking in those units if second-hand smoke becomes a problem.
1/15/11 Smoking banned in Kaiserslautern's stairwell housing units Stars & Stripes The Air Force has banned smoking in all family stairwell housing units at U.S. military bases in the Kaiserslautern area, saying the measure is intended to improve force readiness and the well-being of apartment residents, some of whom have complained of secondhand smoke.

National Apartment Surveys

5/1/12 Non-Smoking Apartment Residents Frequently Exposed To Secondhand Smoke, Study Finds Huffington Post If you thought living in a smoke-free apartment was enough to protect you from secondhand smoke, think again.4
4/30/12 One in three people living in apartment complain about smell of second-hand smoke Daily Mail Online A new study reveals that one third of American apartment-dwellers, many of them families with children, must regularly endure the smell of second-hand smoke.4
4/29/12 Hidden Secondhand Smoke Risk Revealed MyHealthNews.com People who live in apartment buildings, especially those with children, breathe in tobacco smoke even if no one in their own household smokes, a new study shows.4
4/29/12 Secondhand Smoke Permeates Many Apartment Buildings: Study HealthDay.com A new survey of American apartment dwellers reveals that upwards of a third of nonsmoking residents sniff the stench of secondhand smoke in their building's public spaces, while almost half smell it within their own homes.4

Real Estate

12/17/12 Secondhand Smoke in Apartment Buildings: Can You Make Your Neighbor Stop Puffing Inside? AOL Real Estate Just because you keep your own apartment smoke-free doesn't mean that you're not still breathing in secondhand smoke from your neighbor.

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Research

2015 New CDC Vital Signs: Secondhand Smoke Exposure

CDC Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) show that declines in exposure to SHS have been slower and exposure remains higher among children, blacks, those who live in poverty, and those who live in rental housing.
10/2/14 National and State Cost Savings Associated With Prohibiting Smoking in Subsidized and Public Housing in the United States

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The nation’s 80 million multiunit housing residents, including the nearly 7 million who live in subsidized or public housing, are especially susceptible to secondhand smoke infiltration between units.
6/30/14 A Statewide Assessment of Smoke-Free Policy in Multiunit Housing Settings Oxford Journals The prevalence of smoke-free policies in multiunit housing (MUH) in South Dakota (SD) was examined.
Dec. 2012 A qualitative evaluation of 40 voluntary, smoke-free, multiunit, housing policy campaigns in California Dartmouth College This paper examines California state-funded smoke-free MUH policy campaigns between 2004 and 2010.
12/17/12 National and State Estimates of Secondhand Smoke Infiltration Among U.S. Multiunit Housing Residents Oxford Journals Prohibiting smoking in MUH would help protect MUH residents from involuntary SHS exposure.
10/23/12 Associations between self-reported in-home smoking behaviours and surface nicotine concentrations in multiunit subsidised housing University of Michigan A face-to-face, cross-sectional survey was conducted from August to October 2011 with leaseholders in a probability sample of private subsidised housing units in Columbus, Ohio, without an existing smoke-free housing policy (n=301, 64% response rate).

"But now God has shown us a different way to heaven - not by "being good enough" and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us - declare us "not guilty" - if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious ideal; yet now God declares us "not guilty" of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins." Romans 3:21-24 Living Bible

12/19/15 Hints From Heloise: Smoke Gets in Your Home Washington Post When someone smokes inside or on patios and balconies, the smoke fills the surrounding apartment homes. 6/22/15