Secondhand Smoke

Research

Smoking outside 'still harms kids'
An Australian study has found evidence that even if parents smoke outdoors, they may still be putting their children at risk for respiratory problems. Researchers measured levels of nicotine and tobacco-related particles in homes over a 24-hour period. They found significantly higher levels of particulate matter and nicotine in homes where the parents smoke outdoors than in homes of nonsmoking families. According to the principal investigator, the data suggest that outdoor smokers lower the air quality in their homes by bringing in smoke and particulate matter on their breath, hair, and clothes. The children of smokers also had higher rates of asthma and other respiratory ailments than children in homes of nonsmokers. Click here for a summary of the research, or click here to read the abstract of the research, which will be published in Indoor Air.

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Reports

A landlord’s guide to no-smoking policies (WA)
The Portland-Vancouver Metro Area Smokefree Housing Project offers smoke-free housing resources to both landlords and tenants. The Project is led by the American Lung Association of Oregon and the Health Departments of Clackamas, Clark (WA), Multnomah and Washington counties. In the Portland-Vancouver area, the Project team has identified over 14,000 multi-family units that are covered by a non-smoking policy.  The Project anticipates that there are many more “smoke-free” units that they have yet to reach.  For more information about smoke-free policies, including “A Landlord’s Guide to No-Smoking Policies,” click here to visit the Project’s website.

Senate OKs measure to ban smoking in apartments (CA)
The California Senate has passed a smoke-free law that would allow landlords to impose and enforce smoke-free policies in apartment buildings. The State Assembly will now weigh in on the bill. The bill has been hotly debated among legislators; while it would protect renters from secondhand smoke at home, some believe the measure is not well supported by the public. Read more here.

Memphis airport officials challenge anti-smoking law (TN)
After the state cited two airport restaurants for violating Tennessee’s Non-smokers Protection Act, officials at Memphis International Airport are standing their ground, claiming that the establishments’ smoking areas are exempt from the smoke-free law. According to the airport’s legal counsel, the two smoking zones do not serve the public, as they are within the airport’s security checkpoints and located inside of bars, which are age-restricted. However, a leader at the Tennessee Department of Health argues that the airport terminal is open to the public and that smoke escaping the bar affects people of all ages in the airport. Lawyers from the Department of Health and the Department of Labor & Workforce Development are reviewing the matter to determine a course of action. Click here to read more.

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