Smoking ban on residential balconies, porches takes effect
(September 10, 2010)
(The Argonaut) - Smokers in Santa Monica are no longer allowed to light up while on balconies or porches near homes. The Santa Monica City Council strengthened the city's protections against second-hand smoke by adopting an ordinance Aug. 10 that expands the smoke- free outdoor areas at multi-unit residential properties to a 25-foot radius around all doors, windows, and vents. more...
Push under way to regulate smoking in Marin apartment complexes
(September 10, 2010)
(McClatchy-Tribune Regional News) - The county of Marin and four municipalities, including Fairfax and Larkspur, are exploring the possibility of regulating smoking in apartment complexes, a step taken by the city Novato two years ago. more...
Salem Housing Authority facility goes smoke-free
(September 8, 2010)
(Statesman Journal) - It's been about 13 years since Connie Ginther took her last puff off a cigarette. "It was a struggle," the 69-year-old Salem woman said about quitting smoking. "Cigarettes were always there for me." The story is different for Andrew Staggs, 69, who is a chain smoker. But unlike years past, Staggs, who resides in the Robert Lindsey Tower in downtown Salem, must go outdoors to light up. That's because the Salem Housing Authority has designated the tower a smoke-free building. more...
Condo readers ask about cigarette-smoke disputes, renter rejections and access to association records
(September 8, 2010)
(Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) - Cigarette-smoke disputes between condominium owners. Ignored requests for access to association bank statements. Renter rejection notices. Sun Sentinel readers have questions and we have answers. more...
Apartment smoking ban? Let's have the debate
(September 8, 2010)
(Tacoma News Tribune) - Washington's indoor smoke ban got its start in Pierce County, whose gutsy Board of Health forced the issue upon the state in 2003 by passing a push- the-envelope local ban. Now the board ought to put an apartment smoke ban on the state agenda, as a citizens group is urging. more...
Education will go further than intrusion to change smoking habits
(September 8, 2010)
(The Olympian) - The rights of smokers versus the rights of nonsmokers are about to come to a head in Pierce County, where the local
board of health has been asked to ban smoking in apartment units. more...
Cook Inlet Housing’s Centennial Village Grows to Meet Seniors’ Housing Needs, Eklutna Estates Grand Opening – August 3
(September 7, 2010)
(Alaska Business Monthly) - Cook Inlet Housing Authority (CIHA) will celebrate the grand opening of Eklutna Estates, located at 8850 Centennial Circle on Tuesday, August 3rd at 1:30 p.m.
Eklutna Estates is a fifty-nine unit facility located within CIHA’s existing senior community, Centennial Village, in east Anchorage. more...
Group makes PUSH for smoke-free housing
(September 1, 2010)
(The Seattle Times) - The fight over smoking restrictions in Washington state has moved from bars and office buildings to private residences. The News Tribune reports that a group called People United for Smoke-Free Housing (PUSH) has asked the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Board to classify secondhand smoke as a "nuisance" in multi-unit housing, because smoke can seep from one apartment to another and bother other residents. more...
Solution needed for smoking neighbours
(August 30, 2010)
(Ottawa Sun) - Dear Tom: This may seem like a small problem but it’s a big one for me. Some new neighbours just moved into the
apartment beside me and we have adjacent balconies. Our bedroom windows are also on the same side of the building. I hate air conditioning and since this is an older building I can open my bedroom window to let in fresh air. My problem is that both of them over there smoke and I don’t. more...
Condominium owners online survey: Tell Queen's Park about your involuntary exposure to second-hand smoke
(August 25, 2010)
(Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services) - The Ontario government has launched an online survey to solicit input from Ontario condominium owners on a variety of topics related to owning and living in a condo. This is a great opportunity to get the issue of second-hand smoke infiltration on their radar screen. more...
Senior fumes over smoking issue
(August 23, 2010)
(Barrie Advance) - Barrie senior Albert Coulis doesn’t smoke. And neither does he want to be exposed to the toxic cigarette fumes leaking into the hallways of his apartment building and into his one-bedroom unit. Intending to push his land-owner to protective action, Coulis launched a Human Rights Commission complaint this week, arguing the Simcoe County Housing Corporation is duty-bound to provide a healthy environment and the current situation worsens his lupus anticoagulant condition. more...
Housing authority approves ban on tenant smoking
(August 23, 2010)
(LJWorld.com) - Kansas - On a unanimous vote Monday night, the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority passed a smoking ban for all of its properties. more...
How to implement a no-smoking policy for a multi-unit dwelling: A protocol for rental housing
(August 18, 2010)
(Non-Smokers' Rights Association and Smoke-Free East) - A new resource for landlords and property managers with step-by-step instructions for adopting a no-smoking policy is now available. more...
Berkeley study shows ozone and nicotine a bad combination for asthma
(August 17, 2010)
(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory press release) - Another reason for including asthma on the list of potential health risks posed by secondhand tobacco smoke, especially for non-smokers, has been uncovered. Furthermore, the practice of using ozone to remove the smell of tobacco smoke from indoor environments, including hotel rooms and the interiors of vehicles, is probably a bad idea. more...
Boston should ban smoking in all public-housing units
(August 9, 2010)
(Boston Globe) - Banning smoking in multifamily housing is the next frontier of the anti-tobacco movement, and Boston’s plan to enact such a restriction in its 64 public housing developments within the next three years would intrude, to some extent, on residents’ personal choices. more...
Retirement home resident didn't butt out
(August 6, 2010)
(Hamilton Spectator) - A spark has been lit. "My father-in-law was kicked out of his Dundas retirement home because he was caught smoking," Rosanne Coomber told us. "It was a wonderful residence. He loved it. more...
Tribunal to hear second-hand smoke concerns
(August 3, 2010)
(Peace Arch News) - A B.C. Human Rights Tribunal hearing centred on second-hand smoke is hoped to result in better protection for residents of subsidized housing, says Rose Marie Borutski. more...
Contra Costa will look at smoking ban in new, multiunit apartments
(July 30, 2010)
(Contra Costa Times) - For apartment dwellers who light up, outdoors is fast becoming off-limits — and indoors, too, in some places. The Contra Costa County board of supervisors today will consider joining other counties and cities in leveling stiff restrictions on smoking around apartments and condos — including a ban inside new multiunit housing beginning 2011. more...
D.C. law expands no-smoking area around buildings
(July 28, 2010)
(Washington Business Journal) - Building owners and property managers in D.C. as of Tuesday will be allowed to post signs barring smoking within 25 feet of their outer walls, but many may choose not to participate as the new statute is unenforceable and may spark confrontation with stubborn smokers. more...
BHA pushes for smoke-free housing: Ban in Hub could be nation’s largest
(July 27, 2010)
(Boston Globe) - Meena Carr figured out years ago why her young grandson, Malik, was chronically coughing and wheezing: Her home made him sick. more...
Residents want clean air
(July 26, 2010)
(Barrie Examiner) - Fears about second-hand cigarette smoke have some residents in a county-run apartment building in Barrie looking for answers. more...
BC Human Rights Tribunal to decide on discrimination issues related to smoke-free housing, with province-wide implications
(July 26, 2010)
(Press Release, Surrey BC) - August 16 through 27, 2010, the BC Human Rights Tribunal will hear evidence on one of the largest cases before them - the matter of drifting second-hand smoke in affordable or subsidized housing. The decision will have province-wide impact on housing providers. more...
Mixed reaction to tough Sebastopol smoking ban
(July 26, 2010)
(The Press Democrat) - Chris Ranta usually lights up outdoors. Even as a fan of heavy-hitting Marlboro Reds, he doesn't want to be surrounded by the odor in his house. But news that he soon may not have the choice to smoke at home strikes him as preposterous. more...
Should public housing projects go smoke-free?
(July 25, 2010)
(Health.com) - Between puffs of his cigarette, Aristo Lizica explains why he's all for a smoking ban in public housing -- including his own housing project on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. more...
Potting soil emerging as a fire hazard
(July 21, 2010)
(CNW, Guelph, Ontario) - In March, a massive fire destroyed a Calgary condominium complex, leaving at least 250 occupants homeless. The combustive culprit was a cigarette in a planter outside the complex. more...
Sault Tribe offers smoke-free housing
(July 20, 2010)
(SooToday.com) - Sault Tribe is first Michigan tribe to establish smoke-free tribal housing. more...
Capital Insurance Group lights up the industry with smoke-free policy incentives
(July 14, 2010)
(Capital Insurance Group Press Release) - Apartment building owners and condominium associations can now receive a 10 percent credit for smoke-free housing units. more...
Think smoking's victimless? Ask the McDaniels; Condo dwellers with health problems 'living at the mercy of other people'
(July 6, 2010)
(The Vancouver Province) - When it comes to smoking, there's good news: The smoking rate among Canadians aged 15 and over has been falling. At last count, it stands at just 18 per cent of the population. The bad news is smoking continues to pose major problems for people in the Lower Mainland, especially in condo
buildings-- and especially in the summertime as folks go out on their patios to smoke. more...
Public housing smoking snuffed out
(July 2, 2010)
(The Record) - STOCKTON - Public housing in San Joaquin County will soon be smoke free. more...