| Smoke - Free Housing Information |
| Provided by the Health Services Office |
Last
updated November 3, 2005 |
| Smoke-Free Apartment Buildings Protect Yourself and Your Tenants!
Advantages of a Smoke-Free Building
Smoke-free rental units save money!
• Tenants who smoke in their home cause higher cleaning costs than tenants who do not smoke.
• Cigarette smoke can make apartment walls yellow, create burn marks in carpets, curtains, and countertops, and leave a lingering odor in the unit. • Smoke-free units reduce the risk of fire damage, which may reduce your insurance costs. • Smoke-free units attract and retain tenants. Most people will appreciate apartment buildings where smoking not allowed, or permitted only in certain outdoor areas.
Smoke-free apartments help your tenants stay healthy!
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that second hand smoke is a Class A carcinogen. This means it is known to cause cancer.
• Non-smokers exposed to second hand smoke are at greater risk for developing heart disease, respiratory infections, and cancer.
• In children, second hand smoke exposure is also linked to asthma, and up to 58% of deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
A smoke-free policy keeps your property and your tenants safe from fire!
• Smoking materials such as cigarettes, lighters, or matches, are the leading causes of fire deaths in the United States.
• When combined with alcohol, smoking creates an even greater risk for fire injuries and deaths. Smokers tend to consume more alcohol than non-smokers do. What Can You Do?
• Apartment owners/managers are free to designate any or all apartment units, common area, and outdoor areas as smoke-free. • Anti-discrimination laws in California do not protect people who smoke. • Apartment owners/managers can refuse to rent to people who smoke just as they can refuse to rent to people with pets.
Laws That Can Help You • Federal Housing Act: Protects disabled people, such as those with breathing problems made worse by exposure to second hand smoke. The law requires “reasonable accommodations” to ensure equal access and enjoyment of the housing • Nuisance Clause: This is part of many leases. It is often applied to prevent noise from parties. It could also protect tenants from the “nuisance” of second hand smoke
California Labor Code 6404.5 This law prohibits smoking in an enclosed workplace. It applies to common, enclosed areas of the workplace, and the company that owns/manages the building if that company employs one or more people. California Health & Safety Code 41700 This law states that no one may discharge from any source any quantity of air pollution or other material, which causes injury, nuisance, or annoyance to other people.
Everyone has the right to breathe smoke-free air.
1070 Emeline Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95062 Phone: 831-454-4141 Fax: 831-454-5048
Website: santacruzhealth.org
|
Second-Hand Smoke In Your Home
Health Risks of Second-Hand Smoke
• Second-hand smoke is the smoke from the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, or smoke exhaled by a smoker.
• Second-hand smoke has more than 4,000 chemicals. Fifty (50) of these can cause cancer.
• When cigarette smoke enters a room, it can take up to 10 hours for the chemicals in the smoke to disappear even after the cigarette has been put out!
• There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke.
• People exposed to second-hand smoke have a greater risk of heart attack, cancer, asthma, and other respiratory diseases.
How Does Second-Hand Smoke Get Into Your Home?
• Smoking indoors;
• Drifting out from doors and windows of smokers' units;
• Seeping through your open doors and windows;
• Passing through shared air and heating vents; • Passing through electrical sockets; and • Seeping through cracks in plaster, sheet rock and pipes, and other openings.
What To Do If You Live With Second-Hand Smoke? Or How to Handle the Smoker Next Door! Be Clear! • Ask for what you want. • Come up with as many possible solutions as you can. Do Your Homework! • Know the health risks of second hand smoke. • If you rent, does your lease have a “nuisance clause”? This may protect you from undue exposure to second-hand smoke.
Try to Resolve the Situation Amicably! • Be positive. Most smokers want to quit, but very few are successful. Also, they may not understand the risks of second-hand smoke.
Laws That Can Help You • Federal Housing Act : Protects disabled people, such as those with breathing problems made worse by exposure to second-hand smoke. The law requires “reasonable accommodations” to ensure equal access and enjoyment of the housing. • Nuisance Clause: This is part of many leases. It is often applied to prevent noise from parties. It could also protect tenants from the “nuisance” of second- hand smoke. • California Health & Safety Code 41700: This law states that no one may discharge from any source any quantity of air pollution or other material, which causes injury, nuisance, or annoyance to other people.
Everyone has the right to breath smoke-free air.
1070 Emeline Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95062 Phone: 831-454-4141 Fax: 831-454-5048
Website: santacruzhealth.org
|
|
You're invited to attend this free seminar
SMOKE-FREE POLICIES FOR RENTAL PROPERTIES presented by
RESPECT of the American Lung Association Cabrillo College Student Health Services Santa Cruz County Tobacco Education Program
Monday, December 12, 2005 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Cabrillo College Sesnon House
Please RSVP by December 5th (831) 454- 4141
Don't miss this opportunity to learn how you can develop and implement secondhand smoke policies for your multi-family rental property.
Hear from experts in the field of tobacco control and a legal expert in secondhand smoke policy.
Find out what you can and can't do to protect your investment and your tenants from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.
|
