Support for Smokefree Multi-Unit Housing

A 100% smoke-free multi-unit housing (MUH) policy means a healthier life for residents, especially children, the elderly, and those with chronic diseases that include breathing disabilities, cardiac disease, diabetes and other diseases. It can also translate into lower rehab, turnover and clean-up costs, reduced fire risk and perhaps insurance rates, along with higher property values.

Across the nation, the trend is for landlords, management companies and condominium associations to institute smokefree policies to eliminate environmental tobacco smoke (ETS a.k.a secondhand smoke and thirdhand smoke discussed below). Resources exist around the globe to support this endeavor. GASP is listed as the New Jersey resource in this April, 2010 Global Directory of Smokefree Housing Programs.

Some policies cover 100% of the MUH facility, (private units, common interior and exterior areas, outdoor property or building perimeter, by entrances, exits windows). Others designate certain sections of buildings as 100% smoke-free (interior including units, or grandfather smokers for a limited time). A poll of 810 Ontarians showed 67% support 100% smokefree apartments, condos and co-ops with the rate rising to 83% among young adults ages 18-34. Read about the poll and how demand exceeds supply of smokefree housing in this December 11, 2011 news article.

This webpage discusses smokefree policies for various types of MUH housing, including detailed subsections on public and market rate/private housing. It applies to multi-unit residents (tenants, condominium owners, etc.), as well as landlords, property managers and management companies, developers, and housing industry professionals. Click on a topic to learn more about smokefree MUH:

GASP Offers Technical Assistance

GASP offers technical assistance on how to eliminate ETS exposure in MUH:

GASP specializes in emerging issues in tobacco control. Thirdhand smoke is recognized as a new public health hazard. Thirdhand smoke is residual secondhand smoke that imbeds into upholstery, rugs, and onto walls, and other surfaces, lingering for weeks. New studies indicate that thirdhand smoke may be more dangerous than secondhand smoke, since thirdhand smoke does not dissipate quickly, and continuously emits respirable particles long after secondhand smoke takes place. Visit our webpage on Thirdhand Smoke to read more about this emerging trend in public health.

back to top^

Housing Industry Supports Smokefree Housing

MUH owners, managers and developers recognize that 100% smoke-free housing makes economic sense, plus renters are beginning to demand smokefree MUH facilities:

back to top^

Economic Benefits of Smokefree Housing

On August 18, 2011, the American Journal of Public Health published a UCLA School of Medicine study which analyzed smoking-related costs in multi-unit housing in California. Researchers surveyed 343 California Apartment Association (CAA) members. Read the UCLA press release. Findings of the study were:

Creating a smokefree MUH policy saves money and time for property managers and landlords by reducing operating costs and offering incentives for loans, grants and tax-credits.

back to top^

Scientific Studies Support the Need for Smokefree Housing

The Office of the U.S. Surgeon General issued a December 2010 report on how tobacco use causes disease, concluding that even occasional exposure to tobacco smoke is harmful and damage is immediate. The report states, "No one should have to breathe secondhand smoke at work or in public places, and parents should ensure that homes, cars and other places frequented by children are smoke-free." "Federal, state and local policymakers need to step up their efforts to implement proven measures that reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke." Visit our webpage to learn more about the Report and its findings, conclusions and recommendations. Learn about the Office of the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes in the Section below, Information Specific to Public and Affordable Housing.

On October 26, 2011 researcher James Repace, MSc, Biophysicist, presented measured results on migration of secondhand smoke into neighboring apartment units at the International Society of Exposure Science 21st Annual meeting in Baltimore, MD. The study, entitled "Smoke Infiltration in Multi-Family Dwellings - Monthly Average Nicotine Concentrations and Symptomatic Effects in Nonsmoking Residents", used measurements from passive nicotine monitors placed in non-smokers' residences. Participants had filed complaints citing smoking-related irritations which were categorized into respiratory ailments, ears, nose and throat irritations, central nervous system complaints, or tachycardia. The findings reiterate the health impact of secondhand smoke seeping into non-smoker units. Read the presentation which concludes, "Smoke-free policies and legislation are needed to protect apartment dwellers from secondhand smoke infiltration."

The January 2011 issue of the journal Pediatrics published a study by the University of Rochester Medical Center and MassGeneral Hospital that shows significant evidence of tobacco smoke exposure in the blood of children from smokefree apartments who live in a smoking-permitted MUH building. View the press release announcing this study and the abstract from the published study.

A global study published November 26, 2010 in the British medical journal Lancet estimates 165,000 children younger than 5 years old die each year from lower respiratory infections caused mainly by secondhand smoke exposure at home. The study concludes that, "Voluntary smoke-free home policies reduce exposure of children and adult non-smokers to second-hand smoke, reduce smoking in adults, and seem to reduce smoking in youths." Read a New York Times article with highlights from the study.

A Roswell Park Cancer Institute study published October 1, 2010 demonstrated secondhand smoke exposure can occur in units where non-smokers reside and in shared hallways where smoking is prohibited. The study concludes "...the implementation of a smoke-free building policy represents the most effective way to ensure that residents of MUH units are not exposed to SHS."

See below for additional studies on the need for smokefree public housing.

back to top^

Smokefree Housing Reduces Risk of Fires, Injuries and Deaths

Smoking was the leading cause of residential structure fires (25%) that resulted in older adult fatalities, according to the U.S. Fire Administration/National Fire Data Center report, “Residential Fires and Older Adult Casualties”. Cigarettes were the primary heat sources for upholstered furniture and bedding fires, consistent with smoking fires as the leading cause of fires with older adult fatalities. Thirty-nine percent of older adults killed in residential structure fires were asleep when the fire started; 32% of older adults were trying to escape when they died. Read a December 2010 Working Paper by the Massachusetts National Bureau of Economic Research which discusses the relationship between cigarette smoking and fires caused by cigarettes.

Creating 100% smokefree policies reduces the risk of fire in MUH, especially in buildings that house tenants using medical oxygen for health reasons (seniors and children with asthma, COPD, etc). A tenant on portable oxygen has compomised pulmonary functioning and needs a 100% smokefree living environment, including not only their apartment, but also neighboring apartments, common areas, and building entrances and exits. Learn more about the hazards of smoking near the operation of portable oxygen equipment.

back to top^

Disability Accommodations May Require Smokefree Housing

A tenant who is classified as breathing-disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act or state anti-discrimination law (e.g. New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination), whether or not using portable oxygen, may require a reasonable accommodation of a 100% smokefree unit, floor or building, along with egress into/from such building. A person may temporarily qualify as disabled, such as asthmatic or COPD onset due to secondhand smoke exposure. A person may also be qualified as disabled, even if medications or equipment help to mitigate their disabled condition.

back to top^

Laws Restricting Smoking in Multi-Unit Housing

back to top^

Last update: 1/20/12