Many have been the studies throughout the years putting in evidence the risks of smoking, and secondhand smoking. Smoking harms your organs, from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, among many others. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. It causes more than 480,000 deaths each year. That is nearly 1 in 5 deaths, or 1,300 deaths every day. In Florida alone, cigarette smoking is responsible for 32,300 deaths every year. 1,2,3
All major health organizations channel a great deal of resources to community education, policies, and support to encourage smoke-free communities, along with many civil organizations.
Smoke-free communities are communities in which smokers are not allowed inside the building or any common area, limiting smoking for assigned areas.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoke-free policies have helped smokers and nonsmokers alike4. The benefits of banning smoking in your community include5:
- Protecting nonsmokers from the side effects of secondhand smoke.
- Increased smoking cessation among tobacco users.
- Preventing nonsmoking individuals from picking up the habit.
- Cutting employee sick days and medical costs and increasing productivity.
- Improving a business’s image.
- Decreasing the risk of fires and smoke damage to property.
- Lowering office cleaning and maintenance costs.
In an assisted living environment, we believe all the residents benefit from having smoke-free policies.
We would like to remind you that Residential Plaza is a smoke-free community. The decision to be a smoke-free community was made to protect the health of all our constituents (residents, staff, visitors) from the adverse effects of secondhand smoke, a known health hazard associated with lung cancer and heart disease. The decision was also made to protect our community from damage to units and lower the risk of fire.
Considering that our community is the home for our residents, the Administration has created a designated and marked areas (first floor back terrace) as smoking areas. Please use these areas accordingly.
For more information visit www.residentialplaza.com
1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014 [accessed 2019 July 10].
2 Jha P, Ramasundarahettige C, Landsman V, Rostrom B, Thun M, Anderson RN, McAfee T, Peto R. 21st Century Hazards of Smoking and Benefits of Cessation in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013;368(4):341–50 [accessed 2019 July 10].
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. QuickStats: Number of Deaths from 10 Leading Causes—National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2010. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2013:62(08);155. [accessed 2019 July 10].
4Source: www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/protection/reduce_smoking/index.htm
5Source: www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/smoke-free-worksites/smoke-free-factsheet.pdf
