Policy Objective: Prevention of Secondhand Smoke Exposure
Setting: Community
Below, you will see a list of goals for this policy objective. Click on the specific goal to read strategies you can use to achieve that goal in this setting.
100% Tobacco-Free Policies
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All places where children and adolescents learn, live, play and work (eg, schools, universities, child care settings, restaurants, public parks, multi-unit housing, sporting arenas, airports and vehicles) should be smoke-free, in order to discourage smoking initiation, as well as to prevent exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke.
Children and adolescents with chronic conditions (eg, asthma) face significant health harms from tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure. Those who suffer from chronic conditions, which are often not visible, could be at an even greater risk for adverse reactions if environments are not smoke or tobacco free. Smoke-free laws should include electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS, or e-cigarettes), as secondhand vapor from these products contains some of the same chemicals as secondhand smoke.
Smoke-free policies improve indoor air quality, reduce tobacco-related health disparities, reduce negative health outcomes among nonsmokers, decrease cigarette consumption, encourage smokers to quit, and change social norms regarding the acceptability of smoking.
Warning: The tobacco industry is well-known for its effective marketing schemes and retaliation tactics. The industry battles pending smoke-free or clean air ordinances by contending that such laws will negatively impact business owners, or that the use of proper ventilation will alleviate secondhand smoke exposure. The industry also lobbies for preemption laws that take power from local governments, which is where tobacco control advocates typically are the most successful. Be aware of these tactics when looking to take action on this recommendation.
Recommended by:
- AAP policy statement– Clinical Practice Policy to Protect Children From Tobacco, Nicotine, and Tobacco Smoke
- AAP policy statement– Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
- AAP policy statement– Public Policy to Protect Children From Tobacco, Nicotine, and Tobacco Smoke
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)– Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs, 2014- pages 6, 50
- CDC– Health Equity in Tobacco Prevention and Control
- National Academy of Medicine report– Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation, 2007- Recommendation 4
- Surgeon General report– The Health Consequences of Smoking— 50 Years of Progress, 2014- page 827
- Surgeon General report– Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults, 2012- page 460
- Surgeon General report– Reducing Tobacco Use, 2000- page 261
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services– Ending the Tobacco Epidemic: A Tobacco Control Strategic Action Plan for the US Department of Health and Human Services- Strategic Action 1
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development– Smoke Free Housing- A Toolkit for Owners/Management Agents of Federally Assisted Public and Multi-family Housing
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development– Smoke Free Housing- A Toolkit for Residents of Federally Assisted Public and Multi-family Housing
- World Health Organization (WHO)– WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008: The MPOWER Package- Intervention P
For more information:
- AAP Julius B Richmond Center– Solving the Puzzle: A Guide to Pediatric Tobacco Control- Community
- AAP Issue Brief– Tobacco-free Environments
- American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation– Smoking Policies in the 35 Busiest US Airports
- Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights– Going Smokefree in Your Community
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids– Smoke-Free Laws
- ChangeLab Solutions– Model Ordinance: Comprehensive Smokefree Places
- Institute for Global Tobacco Control– The MPOWER framework and United Nations human rights treaties: An additional argument for the promotion of tobacco control goals
- Public Health Law Center– Vehicles
- University of Michigan– Smoke-free Campus Supervisor's Toolkit
For More Information about tobacco industry tactics:
- Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights– Advice to Business Owners
- Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights– Economic Impact
- Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights– Tobacco’s Dirty Tricks
- CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Review, March 18, 2005- Preemptive State Smoke-free Indoor Air Laws--United States, 1999--2004
- Surgeon General Report– The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke- page 11
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There are no federal, state or local laws that prevent a landlord, housing authority or condominium association from adopting a 100% smoke-free policy. Both public and private facilities have the right to adopt smoke-free policies. Nonsmoking provisions in leases and sales agreements should include terms that address smoking in both common areas and residential units. Products other than cigarettes should be included in these policies. For example, in the exhaled smoke or vapor, hookah, cigars and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS, or e-cigarettes) emit some of the same chemicals as cigarettes.
Warning: The tobacco industry is well-known for its effective marketing schemes and retaliation tactics. The industry battles potential smoke-free housing policies by contending that such policies will cost landlords and management companies money because people will not want to live there if they can’t smoke. Another frequently used argument is that proper ventilation will alleviate secondhand smoke exposure. Be aware of these tactics when looking to take action on this recommendation.
Recommended by:
- AAP policy statement– Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
- AAP policy statement– Public Policy to Protect Children From Tobacco, Nicotine, and Tobacco Smoke
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)– Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs, 2014- page 6
- CDC– Health Equity in Tobacco Prevention and Control
- National Academy of Medicine report– Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation, 2007- Recommendation 7
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development– Smoke Free Housing- A Toolkit for Owners/Management Agents of Federally Assisted Public and Multi-family Housing
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development– Smoke Free Housing- A Toolkit for Residents of Federally Assisted Public and Multi-family Housing
- World Health Organization (WHO)– WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008: The MPOWER Package- Intervention P
For more information:
- AAP Issue Brief– Tobacco-free Environments
- Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights– Going Smokefree in Your Community
- The Center for Social Gerontology– Smoke-Free Environments Law Project
- Institute for Global Tobacco Control– The MPOWER framework and United Nations human rights treaties: An additional argument for the promotion of tobacco control goals
- Tobacco Control Legal Consortium– There is No Constitutional Right to Smoke
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development– Optional Smoke-Free Housing Policy Implementation
For More Information about tobacco industry tactics:
- Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights– Tobacco’s Dirty Tricks
- Surgeon General Report– The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke- page 11
Last Updated
05/05/2021
Source
American Academy of Pediatrics