New Year's Resolution - Live Smoke Free

               Many people look at the New Year as an opportunity to improve their health, and those can go beyond eating well and staying active.

One of those resolutions is to take a pledge to quit smoking, or if you don’t smoke, pledge to live in a smoke-free environment.

People who live in apartments and other multiunit housing can easily be exposed to secondhand smoke from nearby units.

Secondhand tobacco smoke can:

·   Cause heart disease, lung cancer and premature death among nonsmokers.

·   Contribute to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and increase the chances of lung problems, ear infections, and severe asthma in children.

·    Be harmful even when filtered out of the air or when windows are kept open. There is no “safe level.”

         Smoking in buildings increases the risk of structure fires. There were 147 fires in multi-unit buildings between August 2011 and August 2012 in Douglas County, according to the Omaha Fire Department.

According to the CDC, 26 states and the District of Columbia had comprehensive smoke-free laws in 2010, up from zero in 2000. The Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act of 2008 protects you from secondhand smoke by prohibiting smoking in public places and places of employment, including the entries and exits of apartment complexes, hallways, laundry rooms and workout facilities.

“Despite the progress, second hand smoke remains the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States,” said Aja Anderson, community health educator from the Douglas County Health Department. “Surveys have found that roughly half of multiunit housing residents with smoke-free rules have experienced second-hand smoke in their home that came from somewhere else in their building.”