For some, just saying no is easier said than done.
It's something about the sensation of nicotine that keeps social relations junior Mary Brady coming back for more.
"When I first wake up, when I'm walking to class and I always smoke after a meal," Brady said. "It calms my nerves, and it gets you through stressful situations."
But if one local group gets its way, Brady might not have the luxury of flicking her lighter for a smoke in the privacy of her own apartment.
The Capital Area Partnership Impacting Tobacco and Lifestyles, or Capital Coalition, and the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project, or SFELP, of The Center for Social Gerontology, are encouraging landlords to adopt smoke-free policies in their apartment buildings. A survey will be mailed to landlords this month to determine the current availability of smoke-free apartments in Michigan.
Jim Bergman, director for the smoke-free campaign, said because secondhand smoking is a major health issue, he is optimistic that landlords and tenants will be responsive to this initiative.
"We've been operating this project for over five years," Bergman said. "When we started, most of the complaints we got were about secondhand smoke in the work place. Two or three years ago, we realized over half the complaints were people who had apartments and condos."
In 2002, Ingham County became the first in the state to ban smoking in many private and public work sites. Bars and restaurants are exempt from this regulation.
Bergman said if landlords in Michigan are willing to adopt this proposal, it will reduce maintenance cost and provide a cleaner environment for all tenants.
"Realtors are saying it's extremely hard to sell a home who has had a smoker," he said. "Our feeling is it's probably the same with renting the apartments."
Bergman said it's unlikely legislation will make the proposal a law, but landlords have a legal right to adopt smoke-free polices.
"Right now, a little over 75 percent of Michigan's adult population and youth are nonsmokers," Bergman said. "We are going to discover the marketing advantages of offering smoke-free apartments are enormous. Once a few (landlords) begin to do it, others will see it as a natural (thing to do)."
Ingham County health educator and CAPITAL Coalition staff member Amy Moore said many landlords felt positive about adopting a smoke-free apartment policy, but don't realize they have legal standing to make the property smoke free.
"They own the property, and they are responsible," Moore said. "They control what happens so they can determine the status of smoking on that property because they insure it."
Moore said the health department receives requests from people with asthma and other respiratory diseases looking for smoke-free apartments.
Arbor Forest Apartments Manager Debi Robinson said she considers herself lucky because not many of her tenants are smokers. She said she agrees with the idea of adopting smoke-free apartments out of consideration for people who don't smoke, but doesn't think those who smoke should be penalized.
"I think it is a good idea, but it shouldn't be an entire complex," Robinson said. "We are even now considering putting up one or two buildings for nonsmoking."
As for Brady, she said she respects others who do not want to inhale secondhand smoke. Instead of campaigning for smoke-free apartments across Michigan, she said, there should be alternative options.
"It's a hard trade-off. If I'm in my own private space; it's my right to smoke," Brady said. "If renters are really having a problem with this, (landlords) need to designate certain apartments for smoking."
A survey will be mailed to landlords this month to determine the current availability of smoke-free apartments.
The smoke-free apartment campaign will take place in Genesee, Ingham, Ogemaw, Sanilac, Washtenaw counties, as well as all 15 counties in the Upper Peninsula.
Adrienne Broaddus can be reached at broaddu2@msu.edu.
