Smoke Free Housing
Together with Clark County Public Health, the Tobacco Free Coalition of Clark County, and SeaMar Community Health Center, STEPS helped produce the first "Guide to Smoke-free Housing in Clark County", a partial listing of rental apartments, duplexes and homes where the landlord or property owner has a policy prohibiting smoking.
At the same time smoke-free housing was emerging as a priority, Clark County Health Department joined a regional effort in Portland , OR with the American Lung Association of Oregon and Multnomah County Health Department in developing effective strategies to reduce secondhand smoke in multi-unit housing.
In July of 2006, a telephone survey of rental tenants in Clark, Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties was commissioned and found:
- 3 out of 4 renters agree that " other things being equal ", they would choose a smoke-free building
- 9 out 10 renters never (or rarely) permit smoking in their units
- Only 19% of renters are daily smokers- a third of these do not smoke inside their units
- 3 out of 4 say it's okay for landlords to prohibit smoking inside rental units to keep secondhand smoke from drifting into other units
Results of focus groups and key informant interviews with landlords and property owners in late 2006 will drive the development of materials and outreach strategies advocating for smoke-free rental housing.