Phoenix and Greater Los Angeles are leading the nation with new smoke-free initiatives for rental housing. Partnering with the local apartment associations, the Centers for Disease Control have invested in training and educational materials that associations can use to educate members and residents who are considering becoming smokefree communities.

Early this year, Maricopa County, Arizona’s largest county, partnered with the Arizona Multihousing Association (AMA) to launch a smoke-free program for the multifamily housing sector. State dollars raised from tobacco sales are reinvested in the community to educate the public about the dangers and health risks of smoking. By partnering with AMA, the County realized it could get more direct access to managers and owners to implement these programs and scale its efforts statewide.

Tom Simplot, AMA’s President and CEO, explained the early success of their program: “Our members ‘get it’ on a number of levels,” Simplot says. “Residents who want a healthier lifestyle will look for smoke-free communities. Owners know the rising costs of turning apartment units [where smoking took place] and the costs of insuring units for smokers. This program offers owners, large and small, tools to educate their residents about the health and safety benefits of smoke-free housing.”

Sharon Hosfeld, AMA’s Smoke-Free Community Coordinator in Phoenix, shares her recent experience with members.

“We created an implementation toolkit geared toward community managers, which has been well received,” she says. “For our members, it’s not a question of ‘Why?’ but rather that they are ready to do this because they see the financial and health benefits for their communities. Our second month into this initiative, we have 15 communities that have expressed an interest and this is just the beginning.”

Anna DiSabato, a District Supervisor in Phoenix for Dunlap & Magee, says she was skeptical about the program when she first heard about the movement toward smoke-free communities.

“As a former community manager, I understood all of the demands on those managers’ time,” DiSabato says. “They didn’t need one more thing to do.”

When she was asked to research the program, she looked at nine other markets to understand the implications and advise her team. She says she was surprised by what she found.

“The more research I did, the more I saw the benefits for residents and for owners,” DiSabato says. “I really became a believer. It’s time.”

AMA developed a Smoke-Free Committee comprised of board members and associate members. It is helping to shape the campaign to educate managers and owners. Using coalition meetings, trade shows, subcommittees and dinner meetings as education opportunities, the association is planting the seeds and apartment communities are starting to reach out for support in implementing the smoke-free programs.

Focus: Lower-Income Neighborhoods

UCLA’s Smokefree Air for Everyone (UCLA-S.A.F.E.) recently launched a three-year project with the intention to positively affect lower-income neighborhoods with smoke-free housing programs in Los Angeles. 

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) granted funds to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research to support and measure the efficacy of a program focused on increasing access to smoke-free apartments. The UCLA researchers devised a plan to reach the largest number of families by using data and software to determine areas where the highest number of smokers lived, and thus the largest number of those affected by second-hand smoke.

To reach into these communities, UCLA S.A.F.E. partnered with the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) to connect their public education initiative “Smokefree Apartment Living LA” to owners and managers. The campaign focuses on Latino and African-American families in lower-income communities to provide education and health resources to curb and quit smoking. Many of these communities report higher rates of chronic illnesses due to smoking and secondhand smoke.

According to Jim Clarke, Executive Vice President, AAGLA, by concentrating on those communities with a higher preponderance of smoking, the program has the potential to impact thousands more residents.

The program offers tools and materials for owners to support their transition to a smoke-free community. AAGLA launched its program with its members in April and will be working to educate managers and owners about the resources that the coalition will be providing, including seminars and educational forums.

Certifying Smoke-Free Apartments

Florida Apartment Association (FAA) is tasked with a different program in partnership with the Florida Department of Health and their CDC grant. Working as a subcontractor of the Department of Health, FAA will roll out a smoke-free campaign to its members and offer a smoke-free certification for apartment  ommunities.

“We will be communicating the benefits of smoke-free housing to our association members and offering certification as smoke-free communities,” says Josh Gold, CAE, CMP, Executive Vice President, FAA.

The program, scheduled to launch this month, offers different levels of smoke-free certification through the association.

“To certify a community, there’s a list of documents, including leases and policy manuals that we will audit to prove compliance with the smoke-free program,” Gold says. “Based on their level of commitment to the program, we will certify them for the different levels of smoke-free that communities can use in their marketing.”

FAA also plans to provide listings of smoke-free communities on their website.

“Today, the number of people in Florida who smoke is relatively small and is decreasing,” Gold says. “We believe that residents will look for this certification in their communities

Owners Manage Risk

During the past two generations, research on second-hand smoke and the effects of smoking are clear. In response, states and the federal government continue to implement and enhance programs to encourage smokers to quit and to educate populations about the dangers of second-hand smoke.

Across the country there are bans on smoking in and near public buildings, tax revenues from tobacco sales dedicated to cessation programs and health care education initiatives to improve public health.

Healthcare and its associated costs create significant burdens for both individuals and governments. The risks and effects associated with smoking are so high and so clear, that this often is the only health question asked on applications for healthcare coverage. Some corporations and governments are choosing not to hire smokers because of the increased costs of healthcare coverage and the potential impact their smoking could have on other employees.

These affects don’t end in the workplace. There are hazards to smoking in the home and some owners and property managers see this as an opportunity to manage their risks, reduce costs and improve operations.

“Every party has a different focus on the benefits of programs such as this,” Clarke says. “For the UCLA S.A.F.E. team, the health and safety of apartment residents will be impacted positively if the program is successful.”

Clarke adds that smoking is another form of wear and tear on units, “and we believe that our members see how residents may prefer smoke-free housing.”

Companies in Phoenix who have adopted smoke-free housing polices recognize some of these benefits. Cleaning and renting smoke-free units can be less expensive because the company doesn’t necessarily have to deep-clean carpets, repaint to kill odors or replace curtains or blinds that have retained the smoke odors. Saving time and money, these apartment homes can be back in inventory more quickly and are more desirable to a growing number of renters. Owners may also see insurance rates for smoke-free communities decrease.

Resident Approval Growing

According to one 2012 Maricopa County, Ariz., survey of renters, 70 percent of respondents say they would choose to live in a smoke-free community compared to one that allows smoking.

DiSabato says that a renovated community that designated 117 smoke-free units in smoke-free buildings was fully leased in two-and-a-half months—15 percent sooner than apartment homes that permitted smoking.

“Today, we have existing residents from this community who are on a waiting list for the units in the smoke-free phase,” she says.

Membership Growth Program for Affiliates

Managers and owners need to become educated about how they can legally transition their multifamily housing communities to smoke-free environments. In California, the Public Health Law & Policy Center created a question-and-answer program to help owners understand the basics of the transitions and when they can legally implement the new rules. DiSabato says enforcement could be another challenge for onsite managers. Through her research she discovered, “You have to treat [smoke-free policies] like any other policy or lease violation,” she says. “Managers responded positively to that approach and most residents have been supportive.”

The National Association of Housing & Redevelopment Officials currently offers training, working with the Arizona Smoke-Free Living Coalition, through an online course for property managers to train management on the implementation of policies.

The Los Angeles association is pleased to be able to be the bridge between the UCLA program and local multifamily operators.

“We want our members to have the tools and the knowledge to be able to make their buildings smoke-free,” says Clarke.

“Ultimately, our association could see other benefits to this program. It’s a membership development program. Owners who sign up to learn how to make their buildings smoke-free are learning about the other benefits that our association offers.”

Cassidy Campana is a freelance reporter.