Editor’s note: The attached photo was taken at the Harbor Apartments in Daytona Beach. It is one of the apartment complexes in the greater Daytona Beach area that offers smoke-free housing. From left are: Russell Bryant, president of Continental Property Services, and John Tosi, DOH-Volusia tobacco prevention specialist.

Dec. 2, 2020

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY SEES GROWTH IN SMOKE-FREE HOUSING DEMAND

Daytona Beach — When Continental Property Services decided to implement smoke-free buildings more than a year ago, company president Russell Bryant knew it would be difficult to prohibit smoke in all of its apartment buildings. But the company that manages seven multi-unit rental properties also knows smoke can pose health risks for others who live in the same building. 

Staff from the tobacco prevention program at the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County helped Bryant to protect his tenants, the properties and the company’s bottom line by assisting with the implementation of non-smoking policies.

“We wanted to offer a mixed apartment community approach to accommodate our smokers but not at the detriment of our non-smokers,” Bryant said. “With our approach, we plan to add additional buildings each year based on the demands of our residents. We truly are listening to our market and reacting to their wishes.”

If one person smokes in an apartment building, that smoke can travel to other units along air ducts, through cracks in the walls and floors, through elevator shafts and along plumbing and electrical lines. According to Tobacco Free Florida, nationwide surveys have shown that a growing number of tenants and owners are seeking smoke-free housing to ensure their home environments are smoke-free.

That translates to economic benefits for the property owners in more ways than one. The time and expense to turnover an apartment after a non-smoker leaves is less than a smoker-occupied unit. In the not-to-distant future, Bryant sees smokers paying higher rent to help to offset these additional costs.

“The need for more non-smoking buildings has been heighten by those residents that do not want to smell and inhale a drug (marijuana) without their knowledge or permission,” Bryant said. We can prevent this by continuing our non-smoking building policy at a rate that our residents are requesting.  Our long-term goal is to have non-smoking communities as quickly as the market will allow us to do so.”

When working with multi-unit housing managers, the tobacco prevention program can assist with policy change and implementation by providing sample policy language, education to residents, toolkits, and signage. Through Tobacco Free Florida’s Quit your Way program, free smoking cessation resources are available to anyone seeking to quit tobacco.

For more information on smoke-free housing, please visit VolusiaHealth.com/tobacco.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov

Tobacco Free Florida

The department’s Tobacco Free Florida campaign is a statewide cessation and prevention campaign funded by Florida’s tobacco settlement fund. Since the program began in 2007, more than 234,000 Floridians have successfully quit using one of Tobacco Free Florida's free tools and services. There are now approximately 451,000 fewer adult smokers in Florida than there was 10 years ago, and the state has saved $17.7 billion in health care costs.

To learn more about Tobacco Free Florida’s Quit Your Way services, visit  https://tobaccofreeflorida.com or follow the campaign on Facebook at  www.facebook.com/TobaccoFreeFlorida or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tobaccofreefla.