Transcript A Smoke-Free [insert name] Housing Authority: What, Why

A Smoke-Free [insert
name] Housing
Authority:
What, Why and How
[Name]
[Date]
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program
Definition
Smoke-Free Housing Rules mean
“No Smoking”, not “No Smokers.”
Benefits of a Smoke-Free Policy
 Reduce SHS smoke exposure and improve air quality for residents,
staff and visitors
 Reduce smoking among residents and staff
 Reduce and prevent the occurrence of fires caused by cigarettes
 Increase the number of smoke-free buildings and units
 Creates a positive social norm
 Lower operating costs associated with unit turnovers, painting,
fires and water damage
 May reduce insurance premiums
Air Movement: Temperature, Wind,
Mechanical Forces
Pathways
Health & Safety
 Ventilation and other mechanical changes are costly and
rarely prevent smoke incursion. “[Other than complete
separation and isolation] no other engineering
approaches, including current and advanced dilution
ventilation or air cleaning technologies, have been
demonstrated or should be relied upon to control the
health risk from SHS exposure.” (ASHRAE 2010)
 Once it seeps into a unit, secondhand smoke can remain
in the air for hours, exposing occupants.
 Secondhand Smoke is a US EPA Class A Carcinogen,
which means there is no safe level of exposure.
Smoke-Free as of Sept. 2012
Health & Safety
 Once it seeps into a unit, secondhand smoke can remain in the air for hours,
exposing occupants.
 Secondhand Smoke is a US EPA Class A Carcinogen, which means there is
no safe level of exposure.
 More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor
vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.
 Secondhand smoke is now known to cause strokes in nonsmokers.
Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of stroke by 20-30%.
 Massachusetts’ Smoke-Free Workplace Law prevents hundreds of heart
attack deaths each year. However, nonsmokers continue to report exposure
to secondhand smoke, especially in homes, private vehicles, and other
places.
Health & Safety
 “Home is the place where children are most exposed to
secondhand smoke” and “a major source of exposure
for adults.” (1)
 Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at
home increase their risk of developing lung cancer by
20% to 30% and their risk of heart disease by 25% to
30%. (1)
 Children exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely
to develop bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma and ear
infections. (1)
Smoke-Free as of Oct. 2011
 Children residing in multiunit residential buildings
experience higher levels of exposure to secondhand
smoke compared children in single-detached dwellings.
(2)
1. U.S. Surgeon General 2006
2. Tobacco-Smoke Exposure in Children Who Live in Multiunit Housing, PEDIATRICS, Dec. 2010
Support those who want to quit
 Creating a smoke-free environment for everyone
does not require residents to quit smoking, but
does help them quit if they try. (1)
 Support quit attempts and utilization of cessation
services.
 The higher rates of smoking in affordable housing
magnify the problems of involuntary exposure.
Smoke-Free as of June 2011
1.Implementation of a Smoke-Policy in Multiunit Housing, NICOTINE & TOBACCO RESEARCH, Feb. 2012
Fire Safety
• Unattended cigarettes
• Southfield Senior Housing
Plymouth Housing
Authority
# 105 South Street – 8/06
• 19 Penny Lane, Plymouth –
4/12
Room of origin – Apartment
# 104 located on first floor
Side ‘C’ of the South Wing
Benefit of a Smoke-Free Policy
Brookline Housing Authority Survey Results –
Elderly Units Demographic and Health Information
Primary Language
Chinese: 5.74%
English: 76.08%
Russian: 13.88%
Spanish: 4.31%
Conditions & Illnesses in Household:
Asthma
Cancer
Chronic Bronchitis
Diabetes
Heart Disease
Yes
16.75%
7.11%
6.09%
26.90%
15.23%
No
83.25%
92.89%
93.91%
73.10%
84.77%
Brookline Housing Authority Survey
Results – Elderly Units
Brookline Housing Authority Survey Results –
Family Units Demographic and Health Information
Brookline Housing Authority Survey
Results – Family Units
STEPS TOWARD A SMOKE-FREE BUILDING
STEP 1: Gain Support & Form a Work Group
Gather information about SHS, the environment (litter, safety, location of receptacles), sample policies, connect with peers that have
a policy and gain agency consensus to move toward implementation. Form an inclusive implementation team for the project.
STEP 2: Develop an Implementation Plan
Develop a Plan that includes communication strategies with time lines. Understand the internal decision and ruling making process,
present the plan to decision makers and staff for approval and support. Survey staff and residents, collect information about available
cessation services. Set a tentative date for the policy.
STEP 3: Promote Cessation Services
Promote cessation services and post resources where residents can see them. Track cessation participation and the number of
smokers who quit as a result of the policy. Continue to promote the benefits of a policy.
STEP 4: Educate Residents, Staff and Partners
Host a meeting to share survey results and policy provisions. Finalize policy draft with clear enforcement provisions, set the policy
effective date, follow house rule change process, continue to promote cessation services, communicate policy effective date in
multiple ways (newsletter, flyer and meetings).
STEP 5: Implement the Policy & Post Signs
Post “No Smoking” and designated smoking signs. Ensure designated areas are maintained and well lit. Post the policy on your
agency website and on all collateral materials.
STEP 6: Enforce The Policy
Enforce the policy and document violations. Evaluate the policy effectiveness (survey staff and residents 6 months - 1 year post
policy). Track all complaints and smoking violations. Continue to promote cessation.
The Role of Education
A complete understanding of the health & safety issues
promotes compliance. Just notifying residents of the rule
change does not work!
Educate before, during and after implementation. And
educate during enforcement.
Educate everyone playing a role in the policy
 Staff & board members
 Residents & guests
 Attorneys and other service providers
 Courts
Cessation Services and Benefits
Massachusetts’ smokers want to quit—and
need help to succeed.
• Massachusetts residents want to quit smoking.
• 77% of adult smokers in Massachusetts want to
quit;
• 60% have tried to quit in the past year;
• 44% report they plan to quit in the next thirty days.
• When a smoking cessation benefit was added to
MassHealth, over 40% of MassHealth smokers took
advantage of it.
Enforcement:
Document
enforcement
Ask residents
to inform their
guests
Cessation
education
Eviction
Clean up
butts
Educate
management
Educate
residents about
why the building
is smoke-free
Don’t designate a Smoking
area (or keep it away
from building and
entrances)
Hold residents
financially
responsible
No smoking
signs
Respond quickly
and consistently
to potential
violations
Enforcement:
Establish a smoke-free environment.
Enforce this policy like you do other rules and regulations.
If you don’t smell it, there is no violation.
Send warning letters. Have sit-down meetings.
Continue education and promotion of cessation resources.
Disability Law
Smoke-free policies are not discriminatory under state and federal fair
housing laws. Smoking is not a disability, nor a reasonable
accommodation for a disability. Addiction to nicotine, while powerful,
does not fit within the definition of “handicap” under fair housing laws.
 Clinical guidelines for healthcare providers instruct provider to promote
cessation, not smoking.
 Waiving the no-smoking rule is a “fundamental alteration” that is
unreasonable. Also, a waiver would cause an “undue administrative
burden” on staff.
 However, always accept and objectively review any reasonable
accommodation request, even if you suspect it has no merit.
Trends in the Market:
 The number of non-smoking properties in New England and across the
country is increasing.
 In Rhode Island, 20+ housing authorities have adopted at smoke-free
policy. Nationally, hundreds of housing authorities are smoke-free.
 More landlords and housing authorities are making their entire
properties smoke-free, not just the buildings.
 Smoke-free housing policies are being implemented in all types of
multi-unit properties, across the market spectrum.
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program