ANR UPDATE, 26(4), Winter 2007

Smokefree Housing

If the neighbor next door plays drums at 4:00 AM, many Americans would call the police to report it as a nuisance. The same goes for any number of things determined to be a nuisance under the law. But what about tobacco smoke from a neighbor's apartment?

At ANR, we receive calls every day from frustrated residents who are forced to inhale secondhand smoke drifting in from a neighboring apartment or condominium. For many, the consequences are far more than a mere nuisance. Residents report severe breathing difficulties, increased asthma attacks, and more. Some of the most heart-wrenching calls come from parents with infants or children in distress as a result of secondhand smoke exposure. Indeed, toxic secondhand smoke entering one unit in an apartment building from another unit or hallway is a serious health hazard. Surgeon General Carmona said in 2006: "The debate is over. The evidence is clear. Secondhand smoke kills." People want to protect themselves and their families from this health hazard in their home, but, traditionally, their only recourse has been to attempt negotiating a solution with uncooperative neighbors and landlords or to move. But most people cannot afford to move, nor can they guarantee that they won't encounter the same situation in their next apartment.

Fortunately, efforts to insure smokefree housing are now underway nationwide. Landlords are increasingly inserting smokefree provisions in lease agreements for new tenants. And at least 60 public housing authorities have adopted smokefree policies. More cities are declaring secondhand smoke a nuisance and are also making indoor and outdoor common residential areas smokefree. Belmont, CA recently became the first U.S. city to require that all multi-unit housing be smokefree, and Oakland, CA has enacted a law requiring disclosure of the smoking status in all rental housing units so prospective tenants can make an informed choice.

Now that nonsmokers are used to working and socializing in smokefree places, people are more willing to speak up in support of their right to breathe smokefree air at home. In 2008 we expect to see both more voluntary smokefree housing policies and more laws to protect the right to a smokefree residence.

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