Study finds overwhelming support for smoke-free policies among L.A. tenants, landlords

Half of apartment dwellers in Los Angeles report having been exposed to unwanted secondhand smoke in their homes in the last year, and 9 in 10 of them say they favor policies banning smoking from their buildings, a  new study by researchers at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research reveals.Owners of multiunit housing properties in Los Angeles also expressed strong support, with 92% saying they favor smoke-free policies, according to the study, which surveyed more than 5,000 tenants and owners in some of the city ’s most densely populated areas.“We found that 1 in 2 tenants said that they were exposed to secondhand smoke and that there is a need to reduce that exposure in order to protect all tenants and children from harmful health effects,” said Peggy Toy, director of the Health DATA Program at the Center for Health Policy Research and lead author of the study.Currently, that protection is hard to come by. There is no citywide policy in Los Angeles prohibiting tenants from smoking in privately owned apartments and condominiums. And in Los Angeles County, roughly 80% of cities allow smoking in these units. Around 80 million Americans live in multiunit housing and can be exposed to smoke in their homes.The danger of exposure to secondhand smoke is well-documented. While tenants who smoke may believe they pose no threat to others, secondhand smoke from tobacco, marijuana and e-cigarettes can drift into other units through shared ventilation systems, walls, windows...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news