Most residents are happy with the ban on smoking imposed by Portland, Ore.-based Guardian Management, LLC.
It's the largest smoking ban at rental properties in U.S. history. Implemented in January 2008, the ban prohibits smoking inside apartments and in entryways, parking lots, patios, and balconies, as well as within 25 feet of any building on the properties.
“The policy not only improves the overall health of our residents, but we can also offer cleaner, better-maintained apartments,” says Jim Wiard, vice president for Guardian.
Nearly three-quarters of the residents surveyed by the Oregon Public Health Division said they were very or somewhat happy with the ban. Even among smokers, 30 percent said they were somewhat happy with the policy. The survey was sent in May to residents at 17 of Guardian's federally subsidized rental communities, and 82 percent of residents responded.
The no-smoking policy also has lessened the exposure of residents to secondhand smoke. The percentage of nonsmokers who reported never being exposed to secondhand smoke in their apartments since the ban increased about 75 percent. The percentage of nonsmokers who reported never being exposed to secondhand smoke on porches, patios, or balconies more than doubled.
Among smokers, since Guardian enacted the policy, 43 percent reported smoking less tobacco, and nearly half reported making an attempt to stop smoking.
