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Going Smokefree Matters: Multiunit Housing						Print
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										There is no safe amount of secondhand smoke exposure. The home is the main place many children and adults breathe in secondhand smoke.1,2About **80 million (1 in 4) people in the US live in multiunit housing**, such as apartments, including about **7 million living in government-subsidized housing**.3Multiunit Housing
multiunit housing building image***What is government-subsidized housing?****When the government helps people pay their rent.**Public housing is one type of subsidized housing.*Each year, an estimated **28 million** multiunit housing residents are **exposed to secondhand smoke in their home or apartment** that came from somewhere else in their building like a nearby apartment.3,4
**Every person** living in multiunit housing **deserves to breathe smokefree air**.SmokefreeNo smoking sign imageApproximately **1 in 3** multiunit housing residents are covered by **smokefree building policies**.42 out of 10 people icon imageAbout **8 in 10** multiunit housing residents have chosen to make their own homes smokefree.4Thumbs up symbol iconA majority of multiunit housing residents want smoke-free building policies.4Did You Know?**Secondhand smoke can travel** into an apartment from other apartments and common areas through doorways, cracks in walls, electrical lines, ventilation systems and plumbing.1,
Opening **windows and using fans does not completely remove**secondhand smoke.1,
**Heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems cannot eliminate** exposure to secondhand smoke. In fact, these systems can distribute secondhand smoke throughout a building.1,Cross section of an apartment building image***What is secondhand smoke?****It is the combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by a smoker.*
*When a person smokes near you, you can be exposed to secondhand smoke.*The Surgeon General concluded:No-risk-free sign imageThere is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure.1fan icon imageCleaning the air and ventilating buildings cannot get rid of
secondhand smoke.1Tombstone iconSecondhand smoke causes disease and early death in children and in adults who do not smoke.1In the United States:1 in 4 people icon imageApproximately **58 million** (1 in 4) nonsmokers are exposed to secondhand smoke.52 in 5 children icon imageAbout **2 in 5** children (including 7 in 10 black children) are exposed to secondhand smoke.2house and kid with a balloon imageThe **home is the main place** where **children** are exposed to secondhand smoke.1,2Mother and baby imageSecondhand smoke **exposure among babies and children can cause**1,6:
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)Lung problemsEar infectionsAsthma attacksman walking imageSecondhand smoke **exposure among adults** can cause1,7:
Heart disease
Stroke
Lung CancerSmokefree rules or policies:**Improve** Air Quality
**Improve** Health**Reduce** Secondhand Smoke Exposure
**Receive** Public Support**Reduce** Smoking in Youth,Young Adults, and AdultsSmokefree policies in multiunit housing can improve health and save money.If all public housing in the United States was made smokefree, it would save $153 million each year, includingCleaning supplies image**$43 million in costs from cleaning** apartments where people have smokedBuilding on fire imageand **$16 million in costs from fires** caused by smoking.8**Savings would be even greater if all multiunit housing** across the country went **smokefree**.To learn more about your state’s smokefree policies, go to: CDC’s STATE System.
To learn more about the health consequences of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure visit CDC’s Smoking and Tobacco Use.Print Only PDF - 871 KBReferencesU.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General—Executive Summary. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,Office on Smoking and Health, 2006.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vital signs: disparities in nonsmokers’ exposure to secondhand smoke — United States, 1999–2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2015;64 (04):103-108.
King BA, Babb SD, Tynan MA, Gerzoff RB. National and state estimates of secondhand smoke infiltration among U.S. multiunit housing residents. Nicotine Tob Res. 2013;15 (7):1316-1321.
Andrea S. Licht, Brian A. King, Mark J. Travers, Cheryl Rivard, and Andrew J. Hyland. Attitudes, Experiences, and Acceptance of Smoke-Free Policies Among US Multiunit Housing Residents. American Journal of Public Health: October 2012, Vol. 102, No. 10, pp.1868-1871. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300717.
Centers for Disease Control. Vital signs: nonsmokers’ exposure to secondhand smoke-United States, 1999–2008. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2010;59 (35):1141-1146.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014.
King BA, Peck RM, Babb SD. National and state cost savings associated with prohibiting smoking in subsidized and public housing in the United States. Prev Chronic Dis. 2014; 11:40222.
Farrelly, M. Loomis, B, et. al. Are tobacco control policies effective in reducing young adult smoking? Journal of Adolescent Health 54 (2014) 481-486
							
					
							Last Reviewed:  September 14, 2022						Source: 	Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
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