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National Non-Smoking Week: January 15-21, 2017
Weedless Wednesday: January 18, 2017
(January 15, 2017)
(The Telegraph News, Jane Mathews) This year's theme is: Tobacco Free for Life ... Choose Now. Tobacco use has long been recognized as an addiction, resulting in the deaths of half of its users[1]. It is the leading cause of preventable illness, disability and premature death in Canada[2] and the leading cause of preventable death worldwide.[3] Further, medical and scientific evidence demonstrates that second hand smoke is hazardous to a person's health as there is no safe level of exposure.[4] Read more here.

Buckingham Palace bans outdoor smoking
(December 10, 2016)
(The Telegraph News, Jane Mathews) Buckingham Palace has banned outside smoking at royal residences amid concerns about smoke drifting into nearby buildings. Up until now smoking has been allowed in designated outdoor areas within royal boundaries, including Kensington Palace where Prince Harry has a home in the grounds. Read more here.

Leading Medical and Health Groups Applaud HUD's Plan to Make Multi-Unit Housing Smokefree
(November 30, 2016)
(MacMunn, Allison and Jamie Poslosky) The American Lung Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) applaud the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for its plan, announced today, requiring all public housing agencies to implement smokefree policies. This rule will protect two million Americans from being exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes, including 760,000 children and more than 300,000 adults over the age of 62. The policies apply to residential units as well as common areas. Read more here.

Read the announcement from US HUD.

Nebraska town considers banning smoking in apartments
(September 2016)
(Margery A. Beck, The Associated Press) Some leaders in a blue-collar Nebraska suburb that's home to Offutt Air Force Base are borrowing an idea from a vastly more liberal state: Ban apartment renters from smoking cigarettes and e-cigarettes inside. The proposal, which would be one of the few such restrictions outside of California and is similar to federal rules for public housing across the U.S., isn't meant to protect the health of the city's 50,000 residents, but instead to prevent fires. Read more here.

Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy Update - Proposals to Encourage Small Landlords to Provide Rental Housing
(March 2016)
(ON Ministry of Municipal Affairs) On March 14, 2016, Ontario announced the details of the update to the Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy (LTAHS)... The proposals include initiatives that would remove barriers for small landlords... The purpose of this consultation paper is to seek feedback from tenants and landlords on these proposals... 3.1 Proposal: Explore whether to allow landlords to terminate a tenancy based on violation of no-smoking provisions in tenancy agreements. Read more here.

The Case for Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing: Why BC Government Action Cannot Wait
(June 7, 2016)
(BC Ministry of Health) A recent study found half of those living in BC multi-unit housing had experienced second-hand smoke entering their homes from neighbouring units. As BC housing continues to densify, the problem will only get worse. One in two people on average live in multi-unit housing today. Numbers in urban centres are even steeper (45 percent province-wide, 62 percent in Greater Vancouver). Furthermore, eight in 10 British Columbians would prefer to live in a 100 percent smoke-free environment. Read more here.

Smoke-Free Social Housing on Horizon for Muskoka
(May 25, 2016)
(Simcoe.com, Muskoka) Residents of social housing in Muskoka may soon have to butt out. Coun. Steve Clement, a representative of Bracebridge and chair of the community services committee for the District of Muskoka, presented a motion at a committee meeting on May 18 that is intended to phase out smoking in district-managed housing complexes. Read more here.

Toronto's first nonsmoking apartment building
(May 14, 2016)
(TheStar.com, Toronto) In his first apartment, non-smoker Jonah Wolfraim was often invaded by cigarette smoke. It would blow in from the floor below or the backyard, �a smoking hotbed.� �In the middle of summer, your window would be open to get some air, but you�d get smoke,� says Wolfraim, 26, who works in marketing with Shopify. Now, the only smell Wolfraim, 26, and his partner, Ilyse Lax, 27, expect to waft over their balcony or into their new apartment in the west-of-downtown neighbourhood of Little Portugal is the aroma of chocolate from the Cadbury factory, on Gladstone Ave., a few blocks away. Read more here.

Quinte landlords group declares war on smokers
(March 27, 2016)
(CountyLive, Ontario) Quinte region Landlords are seeking help to butt out problems caused by some tenants who smoke. Fed up with the damage caused by some tenants smoking in their units, members of the Quinte Landlords Association brought in the Public Health Unit to educate them on how to outlaw smoking in their buildings. Read more here.

Landlords want tenants to follow smoking rules
(March 28, 2016)
(Miller, Jason, The Intelligencer, Belleville) Quinte landlords are smoking out tenants who aren't abiding by new rules barring use of tobacco in apartment units. Sparked by apparent damage caused by some tenants smoking, members of the Quinte Landlords Association brought in the Public Health Unit to educate them on how to outlaw smoking in their buildings. Read more here.

Butt-out bylaw begins April 1
(March 30, 2016)
(Klassen, Andrea, Kamloops This Week) You can't light up a cigarette in a city park as of Friday, but smokers who violate the city's new ban won't be ticketed by bylaw officers. As of April 1, smoking will be illegal in all parks in the City of Kamloops, as well as on city property. The ban also covers electronic cigarettes. Read more here.

Secondhand Marijuana Smoke: Health Consequences and Policy Considerations
(Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, Berkeley) Smoke is smoke. Both tobacco and marijuana smoke impair blood vessel function similarly. People should avoid both, and governments who are protecting people against secondhand smoke exposure should include marijuana in those rules. Read more here.

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