Making no-smoking rules WORK in Affordable Housing

1
Making no-smoking rules WORKin Affordable Housing
2
Today well talk about

• Trends
• Why safe healthy housing should not be a luxury
• Steps and tools to implement a no-smoking policy
• Understanding tobacco addiction

3
Smoking The world has changed

• In 1965, 1/2 of adult men and 1/3 of women in the
  US smoked and they did it
• At work
• On airplanes
• During college classes
• In hotels and theatres
• In restaurants, bars and taverns
• In their homes and
• In their beds

4
Present Day

• Most workplaces are smokefree
• 85 of homes in Oregon and 87 in Washington have
  a no-smoking rule
• People expect smoke-free air where they work and
  where they live

5
What we know about SECONDHAND SMOKE

• There is no safe level of exposure to SHS
• The scientific evidence is now indisputable
• secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance.
• It is a serious health hazard that can lead to
  disease and premature death in children and
  nonsmoking adults.
• U.S. Surgeon General, 2006

6
Children living in buildings where smoking is
allowed

• Have higher levels of nicotine markers in their
  blood.
• SHS can seep into apartments where no one smokes
  through shared walls, ventilation systems and
  ductwork.
• SHS is absorbed into furniture, carpets,
  curtains, clothing, toys, etc that children come
  into contact with and put in their mouths.

7
Secondhand smoke cannot be controlled

• At present the only means of
• effectively eliminating the health risks
• associated with indoor exposure is
• to ban smoking activity.
• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
• Air-Conditioning Engineers

8
Treatments can make it worse

• Separating smokers from non-smokers, using air
  cleaning technologies, or ventilating buildings
  does not eliminate SHS exposure
• Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems
  can actually distribute SHS throughout a building

9
What we know about RENTERS

• 77 of Metro renters, regardless of smoking
  status, prefer to live in smokefree housing
• 46 would feel uncomfortable living next door to
  a smoker
• 74 say its OK for landlords to ban smoking

Results were similar across all income groups
Portland-Vancouver metro renter survey conducted
2009 by Campbell DeLong Resources, Inc
10
What we know about RENTERS and SMOKING

• How many renters do you think smoke?
• Survey of Metro renters said 23 (16 daily, 7
  some days)
• How many renter households allow smoking inside?
• 82 do not allow smoking anywhere inside 6
  where smoking occurs rarely or never

Most tenants dont smoke, and over half of those
who do already go outside.
11
Oregon and Washington Smokefree Laws

• Almost every workplace and public place is
  smokefree in Oregon and Washington
• This includes public and common areas and
  anywhere an employee must pass through in the
  course of their duties
• Also no-smoking within 10 feet (OR) and 25 feet
  (WA) of any entrance, window or intake unit

12
Prohibiting smoking is legal
Smokers are not a protected class. Nonsmokers
may be eligible for protection from SHS under
Fair Housing laws. Property owners and managers
have every right to restrict smoking in and on
their property. Fair Housing Council of Oregon
13
New Oregon law for landlords

• As of 1/1/10 landlords must disclose, as part of
  their rental agreement, whether or not smoking
  is
• Prohibited on the premises
• Allowed on the entire premises
• Allowed in limited areas on the premises
• If smoking is allowed, the disclosure must state
  where it is allowed.

14
HUD Weighs In
HUD strongly encourages public housing
authorities and multifamily housing rental
assistance programs to implement Non-Smoking
policies for some or all of the units they own
or manage. HUD Notice PIH-2009-21(HA) HUD Notice
H-2010-21
15
National trends in public housing
This represents an increase of over 1,000 over
the last 68 months.
16

•  
• Safe and healthy housing should not be a luxury
  for those who can afford it

17
Look familiar?
Clean-up after a smoker nicotine coats
everything Portland Tribune photos
18
Safe Healthy Housing for ALL

• Safe healthy housing is key to a persons
  physical safety and well-being.
• Homes should not pose a serious health hazard to
  the people who live there.

19
Safe Healthy Housing for ALL

• Residents in affordable housing have the least
  amount of choice and ability to move.
• With long waits to get in, they are not likely to
  move out if they experience unwanted SHS at home.

20
Safe Healthy Housing for ALL

• People with low-incomes already have higher rates
  of chronic disease and disability.
• Exposure to SHS and tobacco use make this worse.
  

21
How YOU can provide Safe Healthy Housing

• A no-smoking policy is an easy and affordable way
  to
• Improve the indoor air quality of a building
• Improve resident health

22
No-Smoking policy might include

• All buildings
• Inside the units
• Porches,patios and balconies
• Outside areas (such as playgrounds pools)
• Parking areas

23
Communicating your policy

• Make sure to use the words non-smoking or
  smokefree in your rental ads
• Put the rule in writing - where smoking is and is
  not allowed - that it applies to guests too
• Post adequate signage

24
(No Transcript)
25
A no-smoking rule doesnt mean no
smokersIt just means NO-SMOKING
26
Enforcing your no-smoking rule

• Just like any other rule
• Residents can be your best allies
• If a resident complains, document the facts and
  resolve the matter
• Prompt consistent action will send a clear
  message
• Lack of enforcement with one resident will make
  it difficult to enforce with others

27
Understanding TOBACCOAddiction
28
Who is Ready to Quit?

• 3 out of 4
• Oregon smokers say
• they want to quit

29
Why Dont They Just Quit?

• Chain of Addiction
• Biologically Addictive
• Psychologically Addictive
• Culturally Addictive

Adapted from materials produced by the Tobacco
Cessation Resource Center, Washington State
Department of Health
30
Biological addiction to nicotine

• Feeling of pleasure, decrease in anxiety
• Lasting chemical changes in brain
• Quitting produces withdrawal symptoms

Adapted from materials produced by the Tobacco
Cessation Resource Center, Washington State
Department of Health
31
Psychological addiction to smoking

• Triggered by other behaviors
• Having drinks or coffee, driving, etc
• Self-medication

Adapted from materials produced by the Tobacco
Cessation Resource Center, Washington State
Department of Health
32
Cultural/Environmental link to nicotine addiction

• Friends who smoke
• Activities that involve smoking
• Advertising
• Movies
• Places that still allow smoking

Adapted from materials produced by the Tobacco
Cessation Resource Center, Washington State
Department of Health
33
Whats in a Cigarette?4000 chemicals, 50
carcinogens
34
Benefits of Quitting
20 Minutes Blood Pressure ? Body temp in feet/hands ? 2 Weeks-3 Months Circulation improves Lung function increases
8 Hours C02 Level decreases to normal Oxygen level increases to normal 1 year - Risk of coronary heart disease decreases by 50 5 years - Stroke risk is reduced to that of never-smokers
48 Hours Taste/Smell improves Nerve endings begin regrowth 10 Years Lung cancer death rate decreases by 50 Risk of Heart Disease almost same as a non-smoker
Source The American Lung Association
35
The average person makes 2-3 serious quit
attempts before finally quitting
Adapted from materials produced by the Tobacco
Cessation Resource Center, Washington State
Department of Health
36
No-smoking rule supports cessation
Cessation supports no-smoking rule

• Moves people along quitting continuum
• Prevents relapse
• Creates supportive environment to stay quit

• Makes rule easier to enforce
• Creates supportive environment for no-smoking
  policy

37
One last thought

• A disgruntled resident from Housing Authority of
  Portland said (in a March 2009 Tribune article)
• If you cant afford to buy a condo
• or your own house,
• its going to be very difficult to smoke
• in your own home.

38
Think of it this way

• You shouldnt
• have to buy your own home
• to be protected from secondhand smoke.

39
For more information and tools, go to
www.smokefreehousinginfo.com
Oregon Smokefree Housing Project diane.laughter_at_
comcast.net
Developed by Diane Laughter, MPH, of Health In
Sight LLC This work is funded by the Tobacco
Prevention Education Program, Oregon Health
Authority