New Resources and Research to Support Smokefree Housing

April is National Healthy Homes Month, and having a home that is free from all types of secondhand smoke exposure is a key component of maintaining a healthy home. Everyone deserves to breathe smokefree air at home, and this issue is particularly challenging for people who live in multi-unit housing, because secondhand smoke easily drifts between units and people are forced to breathe their neighbors’ smoke. Despite progress, continued action on enacting policy change is critical for ensuring people have a safe, healthy, smokefree living environment.

Who is still exposed?

The new 2024 Surgeon General’s Report, “Eliminating Tobacco-Related Disease and Death: Addressing Disparities,” contains valuable information for communities working on smokefree policy change, including highlighting the need for policies to address multi-unit housing. The report found that inequitable smokefree protections for people living in multi-unit housing contributes to the disparities we see in exposure to secondhand smoke, and that smokefree policies for multi-unit housing would both reduce these disparities and would reduce residents’ exposure to secondhand smoke.

Smoke is smoke: In the discussion around healthy housing and smokefree air, cannabis smoke is as important a factor as tobacco smoke. Secondhand smoke from cannabis contains many of the same harmful chemicals and toxins as tobacco smoke. All types of secondhand smoke are harmful to health, and smokefree spaces – including multi-unit buildings – should be free from smoking and vaping of both tobacco and cannabis products. As more states legalize cannabis, surveys are showing that more people are reporting exposure to cannabis secondhand smoke.

Nearly 90% of Americans do not allow smoking in their own home, yet research shows that 35% of multi-unit residents who have a smokefree home rule still experience the frustration and health hazard of drifting smoke from their neighbors. Many people are at risk for breathing secondhand smoke at home, as around 31% of U.S. residences are classified as multi-unit housing, which includes rental apartments as well as owner-occupied condominiums and townhomes.

The New York Times recently addressed this issue in an “Ask Real Estate” column, My Neighbors Smoke Weed All Day, and It’s Stinking Up the Joint, where a co-op owner wrote in to say they are suffering from a new neighbor’s drifting cannabis smoke. The writer wanted to know if they could ask the neighbor to ventilate their unit due to the smell. The column could have provided more information about the health risks of exposure to secondhand cannabis and the need for buildings to be smokefree in order to effectively protect health rather than relying on ventilation systems, but it did provide useful guidance for raising the issue with management, seeing if existing nuisance language in the building’s rules can be used to address the problem, and the benefits of working collaboratively with neighbors.

This New York Times column highlights the ongoing challenge that residents of apartments, condominiums, and co-ops alike face when a neighbor smokes tobacco or cannabis in the building, which can be a slow, costly, and frustrating situation to try to resolve. It’s likewise a good reminder of the benefit of communities building readiness for enacting a local law to require that no smoking or vaping take place inside multi-unit buildings throughout your city or county, as opposed to having to address the issue resident by resident and building by building. There are now more than 100 cities and counties with smokefree multi-unit housing laws, so communities that are looking to take action on this important healthy housing issue can look to the leadership of these trailblazing communities.

New Resources

ANRF has a new series of videos and fact sheets designed to provide helpful guidance to residents who are experiencing secondhand smoke exposure at home, including steps to take to towards having a smokefree apartment and an overview of addressing secondhand cannabis smoke in your apartment.

Learn More

ANRF blog post for CityHealth: A Smokefree Home is A Healthy Home