Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch: Formative Research, Capacity Building, and Strategic Planning To Advance Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing in North Carolina
Creators: name: Buescher, Brenda
name: Stein, Anna
name: Velicer, Clayton
name: Tang, Pat
name: Reid, Amy
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2012

description: Background: The Surgeon General has determined that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke (HHS, 2006). In apartments and condominiums, also known as multi-unit housing (MUH), secondhand smoke can travel through hallways, air ducts, and small spaces between units (HHS, 2009). There is evidence that low-income persons are disproportionately impacted by exposure to secondhand smoke in MUH (King, et al., 2009). We partnered with the Tobacco Control and Prevention Branch of the North Carolina Division of Public Health (TPCB) to promote the passage of smoke-free policies in multi-unit housing in North Carolina, particularly in affordable housing. Methods: We engaged the community of owners and managers of affordable MUH by interviewing and surveying them to learn their experiences with smoking policies and what benefits and barriers exist to implementing smoke-free policies. We also partnered with an affordable housing owner in Greensboro, NC, to survey his residents in order to learn their smoking habits and their attitudes toward smoke-free policies. We researched surveillance methods by which TPCB can track whether the proportion of MUH properties with smoke-free policies in NC changes over time. Furthermore, we created content for an online smoke-free MUH toolkit for the housing industry and for residents. Finally, we created a strategic plan TPCB can use moving forward to continue promotion of smoke-free policies in MUH in North Carolina. Results: Our key housing industry survey finding is that MUH owners and managers who have not yet implemented smoke-free policies perceive the difficulty of enforcement as a barrier, but that those who have implemented smoke-free policies find them relatively easy to enforce. Most respondents to our tenant survey reported that they do not smoke and would prefer to live in housing with smoke-free policies. Furthermore, we worked with a marketing firm to develop the toolkit website from the content we created. A key part of our strategic plan involves publicizing the existence of the website to MUH owners and managers in the state. Discussion: While the Capstone team and TPCB have preliminarily engaged the community of MUH owners and managers in NC on the issue of smoke-free housing, there is still much work to be done educating them on the issue and providing tools they can use to implement smoke-free policies. It will be particularly important to bring together owners and managers who have successfully implemented smoke-free policies with those who want to learn more. A positive outcome is that the housing owner we worked with in Greensboro may be interested in implementing smoke-free policies in some of his properties as a result of the findings of the survey of his tenants. The online toolkit will be a valuable resource to TPCB as it works to share information with MUH owners, managers, and tenants across the state.