Here
at Sutter County Public Health, we’ve been receiving more and more calls from apartment dwellers. They’re looking for help to combat secondhand smoke (SHS) where they live. A few of these calls are coming from at-risk populations especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of SHS.
The specific
callers are older individuals with medical conditions that are made much worse when exposed to SHS. Though their housing management listens with concern, little is being done to implement a smoke-free housing policy in the building, city, or county where they live. These are capable adults that have the know-how and courage to reach out to building management, neighbors, and even Public Health, yet they are finding barriers to breathing clean air in their own homes.
To reiterate
my last point, even capable adults with deep ties to their community are hitting brick wall after brick wall trying to breathe clean air where they live. This point is worth emphasizing because there are other populations of Sutter County residents that rarely have their voices heard. These are children and populations with lower socioeconomic status. Children in rented homes, in particular, are 2.23 times more likely to be exposed to SHS than children living in owned homes.
Residents
such as children or those of low socioeconomic status often lack the means to speak to decision makers when it comes to protecting their own health. Apartment building owners/managers, as well as city and county elected official infrequently hear from the very voices that should have the most say in protecting their own health.
What can we do? There are a variety of options to protect these residents from secondhand smoke:
1. Municipalities can pass laws prohibiting smoking in multi-unit buildings
2. Voluntary policies can be passed by property owners/management
3. Affordable housing funders can offer tax incentives for smoke-free buildings
4. Cities/Counties can pass “Disclosure Laws” which require building owners to disclose which units are smoking and nonsmoking. This helps people make a more informed decision when looking for housing.
These types of targeted tobacco control efforts are needed to reduce the adverse effects of secondhand smoke to those Sutter County residents who live in multi-unit homes. For more information check out our website at
SutterCounty.org
or contact Brian at (530) 822-7215 or
bcowan@co.sutter.ca.us