Tobacco control group promoting smoke-free apartments

By Bismarck Tribune
BISMARCK, N.D. _ The North Dakota Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy is promoting smoke-free apartments.
The center has launched an education campaign encouraging smoke-free housing policies.
“In North Dakota, 24 percent of residents live in apartments and many of these residents continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke,” Executive Director Jeanne Prom said in a statement.
The center cited a 2006 surgeon general’s report that said air-cleaning technologies and ventilating buildings do not eliminate smoke because conventional systems cannot remove all the toxins. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems also can distribute secondhand smoke throughout a building.
Prom said there are high costs to landlords associated with allowing smoking in apartments, like painting and replacing carpeting.
The center cited a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that estimated the annual cost savings of eliminating smoking in subsidized housing nationwide would be $108 million in annual renovation expenses and $72 million in annual smoking-related fire losses.
For more information go to www.smokefreehousingND.com.
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