ANR UPDATE, 25(3), Fall 2006

As smokefree air in workplaces and indoor public places becomes the norm, nonsmokers are increasingly advocating for their right to breathe smokefree air in their homes, especially in apartments and other multi-family buildings.

Recent research, such as that by David Bohac with the Center for Energy and Environment, demonstrates that secondhand smoke can easily drift throughout multi-unit buildings and further supports the need to protect people from this harmful exposure. Also, the 2006 U.S. Surgeon General's report on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke reconfirms that ventilation systems do not protect people from the health hazards of tobacco smoke. Infiltrating secondhand smoke in multi-unit buildings can significantly impact the health and quality of life of nonsmoking neighbors. Additionally, smoking increases maintenance costs and the risk of fire and decreases property values, all of which is ample justification for the adoption of smokefree multi-unit housing policies.

It is well within the rights of landlords, building owners, and management companies to require that all areas, including private units, of their buildings be smokefree. Around the U.S, many property owners and managers are choosing to protect their residents and their property values by making both market-rate and subsidized multi-family buildings smokefree.

First Centrum Communities is the first national apartment development and management company to adopt a smokefree policy. It applies for all new tenants as of September 1, 2006 for all 5,452 units in 49 apartment complexes in six states. More than a dozen public housing authorities, including four each in Michigan and Maine, have enacted smokefree policies for apartment buildings under their control.

In August, the City Council in Dublin, CA voted to allow nonsmokers aggrieved by drifting secondhand smoke in their homes to obtain relief in small claims court, either in the form of an order requiring a smoking neighbor to stop the drifting smoke or in the form of damages for the harm caused by the smoke.

ANR has materials available in the "In Your Home" section of www.no-smoke.org to assist you in advocating for smokefree policies in multi-family housing.

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