Smoke-Free Housing New Yorkers Deserve Smoke-Free Air Why - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Smoke-Free Housing

New Yorkers Deserve Smoke-Free Air

Why Smoke-Free Housing in NYC?

• It’s good for health
• It’s good for business
• It’s popular among

residents & owners

• SHS causes more severe + frequent

asthma attacks

• Among children with asthma, 53.2%

were exposed to SHS in 2005-2010

• The biggest source of SHS exposure

among children is the home

We Need to Protect Our Littlest New Yorkers

Source: 2014 Surgeon General Report on Tobacco. Red items are new associations in the 2014 report

Health Problems Caused by Secondhand Smoke (SHS)

Exposure to Secondhand Smoke is T

• xic
• Secondhand smoke causes

an estimated 42,000 deaths annually in the United States

• Since 1964, approximately

2,500,000 nonsmokers have died from health problems caused by exposure to SHS

Cigarette Smoke: How Does it travel?

• AIR MOVEMENT IN APARTMENT BUILDINGS

– Tests show air movement from one unit to another is significant, difficult to reduce and almost impossible to eliminate. – In some cases, up to 65% of air was shared between units.

• HOW DOES AIR GET IN AND OUT?

– Gaps in walls, floors, mechanical chases, and under doors. – Some are accessible. Others are too diffuse or inaccessible for sealing.

Full report available at www.mnsmokefreehousning.org

Floor Baseboards Have Gaps

Tracer gas released in one unit… …seeps into another unit

Corroded Bathroom Fan Other Openings Are Hidden

It’s Good for Business: Costs of Rehabilitating a Residential Unit

Non-Smoking Light Smoking Heavy Smoking General Cleaning $240 $500 $720 Paint $170 $225 $480 Flooring $50 $950 $1,425 Appliances $60 $75 $490 Bathroom $40 $60 $400 T

• tal

$560 $1,810 $3,515

Data reflects surveys from housing authorities and subsidized housing facilities in New England. Collected and reported by Smoke-Free Housing New England, 2009.

Property Damage!

A/C Filter With Smoke Damage

Cigarette Burns

• n Carpet

Residue on Walls Residue on Electrical Outlet

Protects Property and Saves Lives

• Smoking is the leading cause of

residential fire deaths in the U.S.

• In 2011 alone more than 500

people died by fires in their homes caused by cigarettes or other smoking materials

• In 2011, smoking-material fires in

homes caused $621 million in direct property damage

• 29% of accidental fires in 2014

were due to smoking in NYC

Is It Legal?

• No federal law prohibits designation
• f an entire rental apartment building

as smoke-free

• Letters from Housing and Urban

Development officials stating (and strongly encouraging) that smoke- free policies can be instituted

• Americans with Disabilities Act,

Rehabilitation Act and Fair Housing Act could be used by tenants with disabilities to reduce or eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke

Voluntary Smoke-Free Housing Policies

THANK YOU!