I live among seniors, youth, and people who are chronically physically ill, in Stevens Point public housing. I appreciate the facility, the fact that I'm downtown, and have a lovely home.
However, there is a predicament. We, renters, are exposed daily to secondhand smoke in our homes. There are three groups that secondhand smoke has a greater damaging effect upon. They are young children, seniors, and individuals with chronic health problems. All of those populations live in public housing.
The 2006 Surgeon General's report emphasizes that "the scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke: and eliminating smoking in indoor spaces fully protects nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke;" i.e., the poisons, toxins, and carcinogens seep from one unit to another, to the hallways, into the ventilation and heating systems, where the wall meets the floor, where electrical and plumbing runs, via our windows and window sills.
Caulking, sealing, and insulating doesn't adequately prevent secondhand smoke from seeping into other units and portions of the building. The 2006 Surgeon General's report confirmed that: "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."
Remember, not all carcinogens, poisonous gases and chemicals in secondhand smoke can be smelled or tasted by humans but we do feel their effects, sometimes immediately, other times delayed, nonetheless they do jeopardize our heath. People tend to think since they smell the tobacco and cigarette paper burning, that they can smell the over 4,000 chemicals in secondhand smoke - they can't. Human senses cannot pick up all of them.
Just as laws have been passed to protect society from those who drink and drive,, nonsmokers need to be protected from harmful secondhand smoke - it is recognized as a Group 1, known human carcinogen. Smoking places residents, visitors, loved ones, caregivers, at risk, including our pets.
We need smoke-free housing because it is healthier for everyone. Make public housing smoke-free.