California’s Latino renters shows high rates of Exposure.

Despite 95 percent of Latino families banning smoking inside their apartments, the first-ever statewide survey of Latino renters showed high rates of exposure to drifting tobacco smoke, according to the “Latino Renters Survey: Attitudes about Secondhand Smoke in Apartments,” released by the Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Education Partnership and the American Lung Association of California’s Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing. The survey also showed overwhelming support for smoke-free apartment buildings and separate smoking sections.

“The extensive and widespread exposure to drifting tobacco smoke documented in this survey is a call to action,” said Dr. Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, PhD, MPH, Director of the Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Education Partnership and faculty member at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. “This is especially important since the California Air Resources Board recently designated secondhand smoke as a toxic air contaminant, and, even more recently, the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report stated unequivocally that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.”

The Latino Renters Survey of 409 Latino adult renters in California showed that 63 percent of respondents have been exposed to secondhand smoke drifting into their apartment, compared to 46 percent of all renters in California. Furthermore, 95 percent of Latino renters banned smoking in their home.

“It is discouraging that while most Latinos are aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke and go to great lengths to protect their family from it, the majority of these renters are still exposed to this dangerous substance,” said Dr. Baezconde-Garbanati.

California’s homeownership rate is the second lowest in the nation, and only 42 percent of Latino families own their own home, according to the nonpartisan group the California Budget Project. A clear majority (60%) of Latino renters support separate smoking and non-smoking areas in multi-unit housing, 82 percent support a law requiring a section of apartments, patios and balconies to be smoke-free, and 35 percent said that they would prefer to live in buildings that are completely smoke-free, according to the survey. This would be similar to the way that hotels offer non-smoking floors. Nearly 90 percent of those interviewed said that protecting the health of children, giving non-smokers the right to breathe clean air, and preventing odors and messes were among the top reasons for desiring smoke-free housing.

“Based on this and other general market surveys, there is a clear demand for smoke-free multi-unit housing,” said Kimberly Weich Reusche, Director of the Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing. “In addition, the increase in building maintenance and repair costs associated with smoking should make the choice for landlords clear: designate an entire building or specific sections as smoke-free.”

For more information at http://www.hlpartnership.org