Articles and Links
Secondhand smoke in Apartments in
Florida, United States
March 25, 2016
I will post articles and links as I find them (this can mean daily or frequently during the day).
Please check in for updates.

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Bay County
Dayton Beach
Deerfield Beach
Fort Lauderdale
Fort Meyers

Gainesville
Havana
Holmes County
Key West
Lakeland

Manatee
Orlando
Palm Beach
Seminole County
Statewide

St. Lucie
Tampa
Vero Beach

Bay County

12/17/12 Solutions to Seeping Secondhand Smoke WTVY.com Tobacco smoke in multi-unit dwellings travels from living unit to living unit without respect for boundaries.

Daytona Beach

8/25/14 Apartments snuff out smoking News-JournalOnline.com The 23-year-old Illinois native says the Victoria Gardens Apartments’ 100-percent smoke-free policy was a huge selling point when she moved there.
8/17/13 Housing Authority residents question new smoking ban Dayton Beach News-Journal In six weeks, the Daytona Beach Housing Authority will ban smoking in all of its residences, including inside Linda Styles' home of six years.

Deerfield Beach

8/28/13 Couple chooses child’s health over smoking neighbors South Florida Times A pregnant couple from Deerfield Beach chose to protect their unborn child by moving from their home after repeated exposure to secondhand smoke from a neighboring unit.
8/23/13 Secondhand Smoke Spurred Pregnant Woman and Husband To Move Out of Deerfield Beach Apartment Complex NBC 6 South Florida Amuary and Renata Rosa were able to get out of their lease before the birth of their son
8/21/13 Neighbors Smoke? American Lung Association May Help You Break Your Apartment Lease Broward/Palm Beach News Times But when Renata was eight months along in her pregnancy, they began to seriously worry that secondhand smoke from a neighbor's apartment could hurt the unborn child.

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Fort Lauderdale

6/5/15 South Florida apartments going smoke-free Sun Sentinel Apartment managers across the region are gradually designating some properties smoke-free — and the ban extends to individual units.
1/2/14 Matthew Competiello: Smoke-free housing: easier than it appears Sun Sentinel Congratulations to AquaVita Las Olas for its decision to become the first luxury condominium in Fort Lauderdale to have a smoke-free policy.
2/9/13 Poll: Does smoke-free housing appeal to you? Sun-Sentinel A survey for the Regional Broward Health Planning Council found that even many smokers would welcome living in smoke-free housing.
1/25/13 Broward survey finds smokers want smoke-free housing Sun-Sentinel The survey found 60 percent of smokers in multi-family housing would welcome a policy limiting smoking in their buildings and common areas.
1/25/13 Do smokers like smoke? Sun-Sentinel Even smokers are bothered by secondhand smoke coming into their apartments, a new Broward County survey has found.
1/25/13 Broward survey finds smokers want smoke-free housing Sun-Sentinel Even many smokers are bothered by the stench of secondhand smoke in their apartment buildings and would prefer if the buildings had smoke-free policies, according to a survey done for the Broward Regional Health Planning Council.
09/2012 SMOKE-FREE MULTI-UNIT HOUSING SURVEY REPORT Sun-Sentinel.com As Broward County now focuses its efforts in reducing second-hand smoke, especially around people living in low-income areas, youth and Hispanic adults, the TOUCH initiative works with county and municipal governments to implement smoke-free parks as well as housing authorities, property owners and real estate management companies to increase the number of smoke-free multi-unit dwellings in Broward County.

Fort Meyers

9/13/12

Fort Myers Housing Authority properties to go smoke-free news-press.com The Fort Myers Housing Authority announced Thursday that all of its properties will soon be smoke-free.

Gainesville

7/23/13 UF residence halls to receive inaugural smoke-free certification The Gainesville Sun University of Florida’s residence halls will be the first living spaces to be recognized under Tobacco Free Florida’s new Smoke Free Certification Program.

Havana

5/1/12 Apartment Complex Goes "Smoke-Free" WCTV.TV A local apartment complex is taking a somewhat radical approach to improving the health of its residents. They're going smoke-free.

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Holmes County

4/29/14 Holmes County Department of Health is urging local residential buildings to go smoke-free ChipleyPaper.com Across the state, there are more than 500 smoke-free multiunit housing properties and 73,000 smoke-free units.

Key West

1/9/14

Flagler Village in the Keys becomes part of a residential housing trend to ban smoking

Miami Herald Florida Keys On Jan. 1, Flagler Village, a 49-unit rental community of mostly duplexes near Key West, banned smoking on the grounds and inside all units.

Lakeland

5/9/14 Public Housing Residents Wrestling With Ban On Smoking TheLedger.com Housing authority allowing a year for residents to transition.

Manatee

9/23/14 Some Manatee apartment buildings, condos going smoke-free Bradenton Herald "If someone is smoking in one apartment, their neighbor is most likely inhaling secondhand smoke," said Megan Jourden, community health specialist with the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County, also known as the Manatee DOH.
10/3/12 Manatee's $30,000 grant designed to convert properties to "smoke-free" Bradenton.com A $30,000 grant has been awarded to the Manatee County Health Department to promote smoke-free policies in multiunit apartments, condos and dormitories.

Naples

12/4/14

Letter: Smoke-free housing (available to subscribers only) Naples Daily News

Orlando

2/6/13 Protecting Renters From Secondhand Smoke WFTV 9 News Listen to the video.

Palm Beach

10/21/15

At new apartment complex, no smoking, no vaping, no dog poop PalmBeachCoast.com One other rule at the Quaye: no smoking (or even vaping) by tenants or guests, anywhere on the grounds.

Seminole County

6/25/14 Florida Department of Health in Seminole County encourages local residential buildings to go smoke-free Sanford Herald Across the state, there are more than 500 smoke-free multi-unit housing properties and 73,000 smoke-free units.

Statewide

10/13/15
Florida Apartment Association Partners with Tobacco Free Florida to Offer Smoke-Free Multifamily Housing Program
prweb.com Representatives of FAA and Tobacco Free Florida provided information and resources on smoke-free housing policies to some of the 800-plus conference attendees representing approximately 200 apartment management companies and multifamily communities across the state.
12/10/13 Is 2014 the year to quit smoking your neighbor's cigarette? Hernando Today Currently, one major focus is on multi-unit housing, i.e., apartments and condominiums, where air containing second and third hand smoke can unintentionally be shared by neighbors.

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St. Lucie

6/26/14 Residential buildings urged to become smoke-free TCPalm.com The Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie is encouraging owners of local residential buildings to go smoke-free because smoke-free policies can protect residents from secondhand smoke and smoking-related fires.

Tampa

6/12/14 Smoke-free apartment living attracts Tampa renters WTSP 10 News It may not surprise you that apartment buildings have banned smoking inside their buildings but rental managers are starting to prohibit smoking outside, too.

Vero Beach

2/10/12 Jane O'Grady, 97, in jeopardy of eviction from Lakes at Pointe West home because of smoking habit WPTV 5 The Lakes at Pointe West has told her she will be evicted if she doesn't stop smoking inside her one-bedroom apartment.
2/9/12 Letter: Vero Beach senior home wants smoker to stay, but move to different living quarters TCPalm.com The Lakes at Pointe West has been criticized for its handling of the eviction of a 97-year-old member who refuses to comply with our no-smoking policy.

"But now God has shown us a different way to heaven - not by "being good enough" and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us - declare us "not guilty" - if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious ideal; yet now God declares us "not guilty" of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins." Romans 3:21-24 Living Bible