Don’t let home safety go up in smoke

June is Home Safety Month, and the Santa Rosa County Tobacco-Free Coalition is encouraging county residents to keep their homes smoke-free.

The coalition is also urging landlords and management companies who operate multi-family housing units to incorporate more smoke-free options.

Smoking in apartments or condominiums can affect more than just the smoker. Dwellings with shared walls also share space, and second-hand smoke knows no boundaries. More than 85 percent  of the smoke from a cigarette is not inhaled by the smoker; it becomes second-hand smoke.

“Second-hand smoke can leak around outlets and pipes, easily escaping into adjacent units and common areas, affecting neighboring residents,” according to a press release from the Santa Rosa County Department of Health.

For more on this story, see the June 23 issue of the Navarre Press or subscribe online.