Tobacco-free Multi-Unit Housing Policy: Working in an Urban Community

Audience: An emerging interest in the tobacco control movement focuses on the elimination of smoking in multi-unit housing (MUH), such as apartments, condominiums, townhomes, and other attached homes. Our project is evaluating a citywide ordinance that bans smoking in MUH in Richmond, California, a socially and economically diverse urban city. Our presentation will be appropriate for tobacco control advocates and coalitions, policymakers, and law enforcement.

Key Points: Smokefree MUH ordinances minimize or eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke. They involve understudied populations including African Americans and other racial/ethnic groups disproportionately affected by tobacco and tobacco-related harm, both in terms of health and economics. Our study will offer insight into the effectiveness of public policies and programs for tobacco control, especially among diverse populations. This is a formative and process case study using semi-structured interviews with experts, officials, and code enforcement officers to evaluate the adoption and implementation of a recently enacted citywide ordinance to reduce secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in multi-unit housing (MUH) residences in Richmond, California. It is critical to incorporate enforceable provisions of a MUH policy, including definitions of legitimate and illegitimate places to smoke, penalties, and the smoking of non-cigarette products, which are recurring themes preliminarily identified in our interviews.

Educational Experience: The audience should leave this experience with a better understanding of policy development, equitable implementation, and approaches to overcome enforcement hurdles.

Benefits: The audience will gain a nuanced understanding of challenges and opportunities of cutting edge tobacco control issues and issues surrounding communities with diverse populations.