Loud music can be a nuisance. Cooking smells can be annoying. But secondhand smoke can cause serious health problems, in addition to being a nuisance.
Secondhand smoke is a first-rate killer.
Did you know that there are over 4000 chemicals in tobacco smoke? And that over 50 of them cause cancer? Arsenic, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and benzene are just a few of these poisons. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in their children.
Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes heart disease and lung cancer.
So what to do?
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene provides a free service that can help you quit smoking. Call 1-800-Quit-Now or visit http://www.smokingstopshere.com/.
If you want our landlord to host cessation classes, just ask – the landlord may be able to get free services from the local health department or other public health organizations.
If you are not ready to quit smoking, please smoke outside.
Benefits for you
Smoking outside or quitting smoking will…
- protect your family and your neighbors from the deadly poisons in secondhand smoke
- prevent fires in your home
- reduce damage to your apartment…helping you get back more of your cleaning deposit
- help you avoid potential lawsuits by neighbors whose health has been damaged by secondhand smoke
- make you feel good because you are doing a good thing for your family and neighbors
Why should apartment buildings be smoking-restricted?
The U.S. Surgeon General says that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke:
“A smoke-free environment is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke.”