Groups Join to Promote Smoke-Free Housing
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Statewide Initiative Supports Safe and Healthy Housing
October 4 kicks off Fire Prevention Week, a national event encouraging fire safety. Sadly, smoking cigarettes is the number one cause of fire deaths--and it´s completely preventable. To help reduce home fires and deaths, the statewide Clear Gains Initiative, Public Health Madison and Dane County, the Madison Fire Department and the Tobacco Free Columbia-Dane County Coalition are teaming up to encourage Madison rental property owners to make their properties smoke-free.
Clear Gains is Wisconsin’s smoke-free housing initiative and provides resources to assist property owners and managers implement voluntary smoke-free policies. The hope is that this local initiative will help generate a model for the rest of Wisconsin to follow.
“Fires caused by cigarettes are frequently more dangerous than other fires,” said Madison Fire Chief Steven Davis. “For example, a carelessly discarded cigarette can ignite the furniture next to a sleeping individual, and that person may quickly find themselves trapped in a fire.”
Nina Gregerson, Assistant Coordinator for the Tobacco Free Columbia-Dane County Coalition (TFCDC -- which is housed within Public Health Madison and Dane County) echoed those statements, “In addition to their potential to take lives, home fires can also average over $20,000 in damage. Between the years of 2005-2011, 88% of all property losses in Madison were due to smoking-related fires in multi-unit properties. The TFCDC is committed to reducing the impact of smoking-related fires and their potential to cause property damage and loss of life. We have assisted over 25 properties throughout the county in implementing smoke-free policies, which translates over 3,000 units and 7,500 Dane County residents now covered by smoke-free policies. We have also identified over 200 that already have a policy in place. Smoke-free policies in rental properties are definitely becoming the norm in this area.”
TFCDC also cited other compelling reasons for making properties smoke-free, including:
- Cost savings: The cost to turn over a smoke-free rental unit to a new tenant can be at least $800 per unit cheaper than cleaning up a unit occupied by smokers;
- Popularity: 99% of property managers who implemented smoke-free policies felt it was a good decision;
- Legality: Property owners are within their rights to enact a smoke-free housing policy in public or private housing;
- Health: Smoke-free housing means that non-smoking neighbors will not be involuntarily exposed to the health hazards of second hand smoke of others in the building.
For more information on the benefits of going smoke-free, or if your property is already smoke-free and want to list it as such, contact Nina Gregerson at 608-243-0434 or ngregerson@publichealthmdc.com.
Free "quit tobacco" assistance is also available through the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT NOW.
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