Smokefree

Concerned about secondhand smoke entering your apartment?

There is no safe level of secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke travels between units through doorways, cracks in walls, electrical lines, ventilation systems and plumbing. 

Myth debunked: opening windows and usings fans will not remove secondhand smoke completely.

Myth debunked: ventilation systems do not eliminate secondhand smoke exposure.

Up to 65% of the air in an apartment can come from other units in the building. 

Health reasons:

• Secondhand smoke 
  • Secondhand smoke causes approximately 7,330 deaths from lung cancer and 33,950 deaths from heart disease each year.¹
  • Between 1964 and 2014, 2.5 million people died from exposure to secondhand smoke, according to the 2014 report from the U.S. Surgeon General. The report also concluded that secondhand smoke is a definitive cause of stroke.¹
• Secondhand smoke and children:
  • Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to young children. Secondhand smoke is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children under 18 months of age, resulting in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year. It also causes 430 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) deaths in the U.S. annually.²
  • Secondhand smoke exposure may cause a buildup of fluid in the middle ear, resulting in 790,000 doctor’s office visits per year, as well as more than 202,000 asthma flare-ups among children each year.²
  • More than 23 million, or about 35% of children in the U.S. have been exposed to secondhand smoke.³
  • Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to young children. Secondhand smoke is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children under 18 months of age, resulting in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year. It also causes 430 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) deaths in the U.S. annually.²
  • Secondhand smoke exposure may cause a buildup of fluid in the middle ear, resulting in 790,000 doctor’s office visits per year, as well as more than 202,000 asthma flare-ups among children each year.²
  • More than 23 million, or about 35% of children in the U.S. have been exposed to secondhand smoke.³

• Thirdhand smoke: the residue left behind from smoke and vape aerosol. It cannot be removed through normal cleaning methods.
  • If a family moves into a unit that was previously smoked or vaped in, they are exposed to toxic chemicals even if they don’t smoke and don’t have neighbors who smoke.
  • Babies and children are particularly vulnerable to thirdhand smoke when they crawl on contaminated floors or put contaminated items in their mouth.⁴
  • Thirdhand smoke contains 250 chemicals and sticks to dust, carpets, upholstery, walls, hair, clothes, pets’ fur, and feathers. The toxic chemicals left behind can re-emit and off gas back into the air. It cannot be removed through routine cleaning methods and can remain months after smoking has stopped. ^4,5

Financial reasons or reasons for landlords:

• Reduced fire risk
  • Home Structure Fires (nfpa.org): “Fires started by smoking materials have been the leading cause or one of the leading causes of home fire fatalities for decades. 
  • Between 2016 and 2020, there was an estimated 15,900 house fires, which caused 620 deaths, 1,030 injuries, and $549 million in property damage.⁶
• Save money on maintenance/repairs
• Reduced cost of rehabs
  • Apartment rehab costs can be $3,500 or more for units that allow smoking.
• Less rental turnover
• Attract new residents

Sources:

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. 2014.
2. California Environmental Protection Agency. Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant. Executive Summary. June 2005.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Among Nonsmokers — United States, 1988-2014. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. December 7, 2018; 67(48):1342-6.
4. American Academy of Pediatrics. (n.d.). Thirdhand smoke: A Threat to Child Health. https://downloads.aap.org/HC/Thirdhand_smoke_A_Threat_to_Child_Health.pdf
5. Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center. (2023, July 12). Infographics – Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center. https://thirdhandsmoke.org/infographics/
6. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Home Structure Fires. April 2023. https://content.nfpa.org/-/media/Project/Storefront/Catalog/Files/Research/NFPA-Research/Building-and-life-safety/oshomes.pdf?rev=183253699bd640d5b53cac82abfea79d.