Don’t breathe smoke in your new home!
Paying rent is bad enough — your new house or apartment shouldn’t make you sick. But if your landlord or property manager allows tobacco smoke in the building, you’re breathing toxic air that can harm your health.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, there’s no safe level of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke. Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and increases the risk for cancer, heart disease, asthma attacks, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and headaches.
More than 41,000 deaths occur each year in the U.S. as a result of diseases caused by secondhand smoke. Thousands of people in the U.S. suffer from conditions caused by or made worse by secondhand smoke.
Smoking is not only harmful to people, it is also harmful to pets. Pets exposed to secondhand smoke and its residue are at risk for developing cancer and other health problems.
And there’s no escape from dangerous tobacco smoke if you live in an apartment where your neighbor smokes.
Walls don’t stop smoke from traveling though air ducts, under doors, through windows and even through electrical outlets. Air purifiers and ventilation systems won’t help, either.
To avoid exposure, smoking must be prohibited from the entire building. That’s why renters should insist on housing that is healthy and smoke-free.
If your property isn’t smokefree, talk to your landlord or property manager. Going smokefree will save him or her money by reducing property damage caused by smoke and ashes and make the property more marketable. Most renters want smokefree housing.
Find smokefree housing and learn more via these links from the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program:
