Enacting A Smoke Free Policy By Proxy Perspective 3 of 3 in the Practical Application

Policy Change Considerations - RISKS: Financial – Impact from policy, paperwork and operational modifications. Legal – Is it legal to ban a legal activity? Does a ban infringe upon residents rights? Ease of enforcement? Occupancy – Increased turnover. Decreased revenue. Increased expenditure. Going Smoke Free

Policy Change Considerations - BENEFITS: Financial – Reduced Operating Costs: maintenance, repair & turnover, staff and insurance premiums. Access to grants and incentives that support smoke free environments. Legal – Reduced Liability for Tenants: negatively impacted by second hand smoke or potential property damage & loss. Occupancy – Increased requests for smoke free residences. Going Smoke Free

Going Smoke Free FACTS MYTHS Will alienate existing residents and increase vacancies. Will limit the pool of prospective residents. Is too difficult to enforce. Is too costly to implement. Will increase legal liability Smoking doesn’t harm persons or properties. Smokers are not a protected class. There is no legal right to smoke. There are health conditions that are worsened by second hand smoke. There are no effective ways to prevent second hand smoke drift. Leasing paperwork that include smoke free clauses prevail in court. Smoking is the leading cause of residential fires and related deaths.

Policy Change Considerations - DECISIONS: Financial – Budget the cost of making the required changes including advertising, notices and paperwork. Legal – Consult with consumer protections advocates, funders, regulators and organizational legal advisors. Occupancy – 100 % smoke free or designated buildings and units. Going Smoke Free

Policy Change Considerations - ACTION: Financial – Approve costs associated with acquiring the required paperwork, advertising and circulating information. Legal – Provide notice to existing residents. Implement upon lease renewal. Implement upon initial lease for all new residents. Implement policy & procedure that ensure fair and consistent treatment. Occupancy – Commit to new construction being smoke free and transitioning existing, occupied properties to smoke free status. Going Smoke Free

Policy Change Considerations - SUGGESTIONS: Financial – research costs associated with the transition to smoke free and plan for expenditures. Legal – Discuss best practices. Have policy & procedure and notices reviewed prior to implementation. Occupancy – Survey and meet with current residents. Inform potential residents. Offer resources to assist with transition. Going Smoke Free

Going Smoke Free Resources: HUD.GOV - http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/healthy_homes/smokefree SMOKEFREE.GOV - http://smokefree.gov/ MDQUIT.ORG - http://mdquit.org/ UNVIERSITY OF MD FRANCIS KING CAREY SCHOOL OF LAW - https://www.law.umaryland.edu/programs/publichealth/tobacco/sm okefree_policies.html MD SMOKE FREE LIVING - http://www.mdsmokefreeapartments.org/

Tiffany L. Smith Resident Services Coordinator Howard County Housing tlsmith@howardcountymd.gov (410) 313-6491