Inside Washtenaw County Public Health: Should property owners ban smoking in apartments?

Angela Parsons, Washtenaw County Public Health. photo by Julie Stafford

Do you let people smoke in your home?

In 2005, Michigan conducted the Michigan Adult Tobacco Survey, and more than 70 percent of households surveyed said they have some type of “no smoking” policy for their homes.

What if you have a “no smoking” policy in your home, but it’s still smoky? Many renters deal with this on a daily basis. Apartments can allow for smoke to creep from one unit to the next, often through shared walls and ductwork. In fact, as much as 60 percent of the air in an apartment unit comes from other units in the building.

Smoking in apartments costs money, from hundreds more to rehab an apartment after a smoker moves out, to higher insurance rates. Also, cigarettes are the leading cause of fires in buildings, causing 40 percent of the deaths and 16 percent of the injuries associated with apartment fires.

Smoke cannot be controlled by ventilation, air cleaning or the separation of smokers from non-smokers. The only solution to this problem is to make buildings smoke-free.

Currently, only 9 percent of property owners in Washtenaw County enforce smoke-free policies. The Washtenaw County Public Health Department is trying to change that. We're not regulating smoking; our program asks for voluntary action. We want to educate tenants and property owners on these issues to help them make an informed decision.

Want to learn more? To help renters and property owners alike better understand the benefits of smoke free housing, the Washtenaw County Public Health Department and the Tobacco Reduction Coalition are hosting “Clearing the Air: What You Need to Know About Smoke Free Housing and Medical Marijuana.” This workshop will be held on Thursday, March 10 from noon - 2 p.m. at the Learning Resource Center, located at 4135 Washtenaw in Ann Arbor.

Local and state experts on smoke-free living will help attendees better understand their legal rights to adopt a smoke-free policy, as well as the health and economic benefits associated with smoke-free properties. There will also be a discussion on the use of medical marijuana as it relates to smoke-free housing. For more information or to register for the free workshop, please contact DeBorah Borden at 734-544-6874.

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Angela Parsons is the Environmental Health Education Coordinator with the Washtenaw County Public Health Department's Environmental Health Division. She can be reached at 734-222-3869.