News and Events

Quit Doc Research and Education Foundation is Encouraging Local Residential Buildings to Go Smoke-Free
Smoke-free Policies Can Protect Residents From Secondhand Smoke and Smoking-Related Fires
June 9, 2014

Okeechobee – Smoke-free multiunit housing, a growing trend throughout the country, is making its way to Florida. Across the state, there are more than 500 smoke-free multiunit housing properties and 73,000 smoke-free units.

Several Okeechobee residential properties have already implemented smoking-free policies.  Local residents state they are pleased to hear more properties are going smoke free.  Smoke free properties tend to be cleaner, raise property value, and are safer for all parties involved.  The local Tobacco Free Partnership of Okeechobee provides “Smoke Free Property” signage for anyone wanting their multi-unit housing to be recognized for being smoke free.

“There’s a fear of alienating resident smokers, but most communities that have taken the leap consider smoke-free housing an edge over the competition and have determined that there is a market for this product’ according to Chip Tatum, the former Government Affairs Director for the Florida Apartment Association.

For property managers and landlords, smoke-free policies can have economic benefits. More than 80% of Floridians are non-smokers.  Many people who do smoke do not permit smoking in their homes.  Given these numbers, many properties have very successfully marketed their smoke-free policy as an amenity, not a restriction.   Smokefree policies can save money by eliminating the need to repair or replace carpeting, floors, fixtures, countertops or appliances damaged by burns or nicotine stains.  At the end of a lease, smoke-free units require less turnover time due to fewer preparation and repainting needs.

In one Florida survey of 421 managers of smoke-free properties, 99.5 percent of the managers agreed that smoke-free policies do not hurt occupancy and 30.1 percent believed that they increased occupancy.

CDC Infographic

Tobacco smoke can move along air ducts, through cracks in the walls and floors, through elevator shafts, and along plumbing and electrical lines affecting units that are nearby.  Therefore, there are also numerous benefits for residents as tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, hundreds of which are toxic and at least 70 known to cause cancer. Exposure, even for short periods of time, can be dangerous.

“A home should be a safe place for everyone, especially for children, people with existing health conditions, and the elderly who are more vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke,” said Dr. Barry Hummel, co-founder of the Quit Doc Research and Education Foundation which coordinates the tobacco prevention program in Okeechobee. “By making sure that residential buildings are 100 percent smoke-free, property managers are protecting tenants from the dangers of toxic smoke and from the risk of deadly smoking-related fires.”

The following are some of the reasons why it’s critical to protect tenants from exposure to secondhand smoke:

Secondhand smoke is not the only danger associated with tobacco use at home.  Smoking-related fires are the leading cause of fire deaths in residential buildings. These fires are eight times more likely to result in death than fires that start from another source. Smoking-related fires in residential buildings result in an average of approximately 365 deaths, 925 injuries, and $326 million in property loss each year.

For more information, visit tobaccofreeflorida.com/smokefreehousing. For more information on the SWAT program in Okeechobee County, contact Courtney Moyett at cmoyett@quitdoc.com.