Smokefree Housing: Five Cities Poll

Cities across California have been passing laws to protect tenants in their communities from the harmful effects of drifting secondhand smoke in multi-unit housing. Until now, there has been little information regarding the implementation and effectiveness of these laws in California.

In June 2014, the American Lung Association in California commissioned Goodwin Simon Strategic Research to conduct a telephone survey of 1,505 voters living in five California cities: Pasadena, Alameda, Huntington Park, Richmond, and Compton. The purpose of the survey was to assess awareness of and attitudes about the smokefree multi-unit housing laws that were recently implemented in each of these cities, providing lessons learned for other municipalities considering similar policies. The results indicate there are very high levels of support for the smokefree housing law and reduced exposure to secondhand smoke, however, there are clear differences by income and race/ethnicity in awareness of the smokefree housing law and how it is being implemented and enforced. Below is the summary of key findings for all five cities.