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>>Narrator: In Sarasota County we value our fresh air, warm sea breezes, and healthy lifestyle.
But for apartment and condo dwellers, living around smoking can pose challenges to health
and well-being.
>>Brandon Hines: Residents on upper levels have come to me
and complained about the smoke that rises up from below.
>>Resident: I’m worried it's affecting the health of my child!
>>Bill Russell: It invariably goes up through the ventilation system, it pours out into
the hallway-
>>Resident: I can't even open my window without getting a huge whiff of smoke from my neighbor,
and it's ridiculous because it smells.
>>Thomas Jackson: The smell of the smoke essentially the smoke from throughout the entire project
was almost unbearable…
>>Resident: You have the right to choose to smoke if you want to. But what about my right
to breathe clean air in my own home?
>>Kisha Gaines: Creating a smoke-free property makes good sense for you as a property owner.
>>Narrator: By choosing to go smoke-free at your property, you can:
Reduce operating costs, protect health, ensure safety, and create more demand for sales and
rentals.
>>Jackson: The costs are going to be more for a smoker’s home for the amount of increased
work that you have to perform in there.
>>Russell: When we have a tenant who’s been smoking and they vacate that unit, the cost
to prep that that unit, make it presentable and nice for a new family to move into, it
takes a lot more money to do that than it would in a nonsmoking unit.
>>Hines: Whenever there’s a smoker involved, first of all there’s an odor that’s very
difficult to get rid of. And if the unit has been occupied by a smoker
for an extended period of time, there is literally a film that coats everything in the apartment.
>>Jackson: You’re gonna need to replace carpets. You’re gonna need to be replacing
window treatments, insulation, and ductwork if you ever want to get the smell and these
carcinogens out of the, out of the atmosphere, out of the area.
>>Narrator: Designating some or all units as smokefree can give you:
lower turnover costs, less wear and tear on ventilation and appliances, and better eligibility
for "green" building tax incentives.
>>Jackson: the better you control the smoke, the better you can control the smokers, and
the areas you can, I believe is going to have a major impact on reducing construction costs.
>>Gaines: When residents are allowed to smoke within their apartment, they are exposing
those around them. By eliminating cigarette smoking from the
home, you’re reducing exposure of secondhand smoke among the smokers as well as those residents
who do not smoke.
>>Russell: The fact is the smoke never stays in their unit, it permeates the whole building.
The more we looked into the reasons why we should ban smoking, the more convinced we
became that this was really a good policy to adopt.
>>Narrator: Secondhand smoke is a Class A carcinogen, the most toxic kind of cancer-causing
poison.
>>Hines: As soon as I open the door of that unit, you know, I mean it just it hits you
like somebody hit you with a board because it’s so strong.
>>Gaines: the particles that exist, they’re just there. They’re stuck to the walls,
they’re stuck to the paint, they’re stuck to the air ducts. They’re in the system
and there’s no way to remove it.
>>Russell: We were very concerned about the impact that that may have on our residents
who choose not to smoke in their units.
>>Gaines: The most important reason to implement a smoke free housing policy is you’re eliminating
secondhand smoke exposure from our very most vulnerable population: our children and our
infants. In addition to that, you’re eliminating exposure from our older adult population.
>>Narrator: Smoking is also a leading cause of residential fires.
>>Jane Ross-Herrin: In residential structures, the number one cause of fire fatalities is
careless smoking. Though it's not the number one cause of fires, it IS the number one cause
of death.
>>Narrator: Going smoke-free will lower your risk of fires, protecting your residents’
safety. And you may also get discounts on your property insurance.
>>Gaines: Over 75% of Sarasota County residents do not smoke. By implementing a smoke free
policy, you’re able to reach the majority of the county, and you’re marketing your
property TO the majority of the county.
>>Narrator: Nationwide, less than 21% of the population smokes, and the vast majority of
people prefers to live in a smoke-free environment.
>>Hines: There would be those who would complain that that you’re thinning out the pool,
that’s it’s going to be harder to rent because you’ve got a specific no-smoking
property, but there would be an equal number of people out there that would be delighted
to know that they could move into a no smoking property.
>>Gaines: If you are interested in making your property smoke free, the Health Dept
and the Tobacco Free Partnership can assist you with that.
>>Narrator: We offer step-by-step assistance in preparing for and implementing a smoke-free
policy on your property.
>>Gaines: If there are tenants who smoke, then the Health Department and the Tobacco-Free
Partnership of Sarasota County does offer "quit smoking" classes. They are free of charge
to anyone that's over the age of 18; you can have face to face classes, or you can also
have telephonic counseling services through the Florida Quitline.
>>Russell: We’ve actually had residents tell us that you know now that you’re banning
it, I’m just gonna quit. I’m gonna quit smoking, now’s the time to do it.
>>Narrator: There is no federal or state law prohibiting a property from going smoke-free.
>>Jackson: We are in America and people still have their freedoms and they, they, they deserve
their freedoms. They just need to be a little bit more considerate of how their freedoms
affect somebody else’s freedoms.
>>Gaines: And the government overall is recommending that we move towards eliminating exposure
to secondhand smoke.
>>Russell: I think it’s a matter of time when I think all housing authorities are gonna
be doing this. Um, for all the reasons we mentioned. Health, fire safety, and cost.
>>Narrator: As property managers and owners, going smoke-free is one of the best decisions
you can make for your residents and also for your bottom line.
To get started, call this number or visit SarasotaHealth.org/smokefree.
Smokefree multi-unit housing is the right choice for happy residents, clean air, good
business, and a healthy future for Sarasota County.