Smoke Free Multi- Unit Dwellings
WHY ALL THE FUSS?
- Second hand (SHS) smoke is a group A carcinogen - a substance known to cause cancer in humans and their is NO safe level of exposure...
- SHS can cause pneumonia and bronchitis in older person but especially infants and children...
- SHS increases the risk od Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and ear infections in children...
- SHS worsens current health problems such as respiratory ailments and can be deadly for those with asthma...
WHY SMOKE-FREE APARTMENTS?
- SHS in apartments affects millions of people, 42% of NYS residents live in apartments...
- 82% of adults in NYS do not smoke and will move to smoke-free apartments...
- SHS can not be controlled and even with a smoke-free policy, families can easily have SHS intrusions...
- Smoke-free homes are the norm, not the exception...
- SHS can not be controlled by ventilation or air cleaning...
SMOKING IS A FIRE HAZARD:
- Nationally, smoking was the cause of 9% of apartment fires; 40% of deaths from apartment fires; and 16% of injuries from apartment fires...
- In NY, smoking was the cause of 5% of all residential fires in 1999-2001 resulting in 112 deaths or roughly 26% of all fire deaths...
- In 2002, there were roughly 21,000 apartment fires in NYS or 65% of all residential fires causing 73 deaths...
SMOKE-FREE APARTMENTS ARE GOOD FOR LANDLORDS:
Smoking causes damage to residential property from fires, cigarette burns, and smoke residue on walls and curtains...
Tenants are complaining more baout SHS infiltration into their apartments...
legal action can be taken against landlords who allow smoking in their buildings...
A smoke-free policy is NOT discriminatory and apartment owners are permitted by federal and state law to adopt total smoke-free policies...