Important: Keep Children Away From Second & Thirdhand Smoke!
- Secondhand smoke (SHS) contains poisons that can cause children to have asthma attacks, allergies, lung problems, ear infections, birth defects, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
- There is no safe level of exposure to SHS.
- Children who live where someone smokes need care in the hospital more than children who live in smoke-free homes.
- Third-hand smoke refers to toxic chemicals from smoke that stay on soft surfaces: clothes, skin, hair, carpets, blankets, furniture, toys, car seats and even sticks to dust particles.
- Poisons in third-hand smoke are especially harmful to babies who crawl and put things in their mouth.
Smoke-Free Housing is Important and it is Legal
- Children are around SHS at home more than any other place.
- SHS moves from one apartment to another through open windows and doors, through cracks in walls and floors, and even through the heating system and pipes.
- Smoke stays in walls, floors, furniture, clothes, and toys and can pollute the air for months.
- Air filters cannot remove the poisons from the air.
- Most people, including apartment owners and even smokers, agree that half of all apartments should be smoke-free.
- Apartment owners can make a rule that makes apartments smoke-free.
- Smoke-free areas can include patios and balconies as well as the inside of apartments.
Things You Can Do to Protect Your Family from Secondhand Smoke
- Talk to your neighbors if smoke is coming into your unit from theirs.
- Ask your owner or manager to make smoke-free apartments.
- Write a letter to the owner or manager and tell them about how smoke from someone else's apartment is bothering you.
- Join with other tenants who also want to have smoke-free apartments.
Further Questions
For more information, contact Felicia Flores-Workman at 707-784-8901
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Market Demand: 82% of California renters prefer to live in a non-smoking apartment complex.
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This site is made possible by funds received from the California Department of Public Health, under agreement #07-48. |
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Solano County Tobacco Prevention & Education Program |
