Monday, November 23, 2015
Elgin St Thomas Public Health
Elgin-St Thomas Public Health Calls for Smoke-free Housing for National Home Fire Safety Week
This week is National Home Fire Safety Week and Elgin St. Thomas Public Health is calling on all multi-unit housing providers in Elgin St. Thomas to adopt no-smoking policies in their units.
“It is important for landlords and tenants to come together and adopt no-smoking policies for their buildings to help protect everyone from unnecessary health and safety risks,” says Dr. Joyce Lock, Medical Officer of Health at Elgin St. Thomas Public Health.
Currently, one in three Ontarians resides in an apartment, condo or co-op where they may be involuntarily exposed to smoke through shared walls, hallways or ventilation systems. In addition, smoking materials is the number one source of fatal fires in the home.
“By removing the smoke inside the multi-unit housing, we can protect thousands of Ontarians from the dangers of second-hand smoke,” says Lorraine Fry, Executive Director of the Non-Smokers’ Rights Association.
Exposure to second-hand smoke in multi-unit housing affects the health of all residents, especially infants, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“Make your home a no-smoking zone doesn’t just prevent fires, it also protects the people who live there - particularly those at high risk such as the very young, the very old, and those with lung disease - from serious health risks associated with exposure to second- and third-hand smoke,” says George Habib, President and CEO, Ontario Lung Association.
Second-hand smoke contains more than 7000 chemicals and smoke free-housing can help reduce exposure to these.
“There is no risk-free exposure to second-hand smoke which contains hundreds of toxic chemicals, more than 70 of them which cause cancer. By implementing smoke-free policies, landlords can help prevent cancer while reducing the risk of fire, creating a safer and healthier environment for all,” says Joanne Di Nardo, Senior Manager, Public Issues, Canadian Cancer Society.
Tenants can ask for buildings to adopt no-smoking policies, which will help benefit their health through reduced exposure to second-hand smoke. Landlords can implement a no-smoking policy that can help reduce the risk of fire, which will also help improve their bottom line.
“Careless smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths,” says Brian Leverton, Fire Prevention Officer from the St. Thomas Fire Department. “Encourage smokers to smoke outside and install smoke alarms on every storey and outside bedrooms,” Leverton explains.
“We have received complaints from tenants who are involuntarily exposed to second-hand smoke and are very frustrated by it; so we know that it is an issue in our community” says Health Promoter Jessica Lang. “We also know from studies conducted that most people won’t complain even if they are bothered by second-hand smoke” and consequently “there is a high demand from smoke-free housing.” The key message here is that voluntary adoption of smoke-free housing creates healthier and safer environments for everyone.
Additional details about smoke-free housing are available at http://elginhealth.on.ca, http://www.facebook.com/ESTPH, http://www.twitter.com/elginhealth, and http://www.smokefreehousingon.ca/sfho/fire.html.
For more information about Home Fire Safety Week please contact:
Jessica Lang, Health Promoter
jlang@elginhealth.on.ca
519-631-9900 ext 1304
Brian Leverton
Fire Prevention Officer/Inspector
bleverton@stthomas.ca
519-631-0210
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