Alexandria woman killed in apartment fire caused by smoking materials, officials say
Washington Post
Date: July 7, 2019
Summary: An elderly Alexandria woman is dead after her apartment bedroom caught fire due to unextinguished cigarettes.
Thirdhand smoke is widespread and may be dangerous, mounting evidence shows
Washington Post
Date: May 9, 2018
Summary: Mounting research has shown such potentially hazardous residue can be absorbed through the skin, ingested and inhaled months and even years after the smoke has dissipated.
Smoking materials blamed in 2 of 4 fires Wednesday in Fairfax County
Washington Post
Date: May 3, 2018
Summary: After a spate of fires in the region, officials said two in Fairfax County were caused by improperly discarded smoking materials.
Arlington Condo Becomes First To Ban Smoking
ARL Now
Date: March 6, 2018
Summary: The Hyde Park Condominium successfully voted to change the by-laws to ban smoking in units and on balconies.
Letter to the Editor: Condos should say no to secondhand smoke
Current Newspapers
Date: January 10, 2018
Summary: Why nonsmokers in condos have a legal right to live in a 100 percent smoke-free property.
Evaluating Smoking Bans
NPR Hidden Brain
Date: December 6, 2017
Summary: A new study indicates that smoking bans, which were designed to affect adults' behavior, in fact improve children's health.
Condo owners can try to enact restriction on smoking inside units
Washington Post
Date: July 27, 2017
Summary: A contiguous owner in a three-level apartment-style condo caused a fire in her unit while smoking in bed. The ashes ignited bedding while she was breathing through her medically necessary oxygen tubes. She: (1) smoked in bed, (2) fell asleep and (3) was attached to oxygen tubes. The combination of all three is unsafe. Her normal cigarette smoke discharge enters units above hers. How can a condo board deter or prevent such behavior that presents grave safety risks to all condo residents? Is it possible to declare the condo nonsmoking?
How Secondhand Smoke Affects Cancer Survivors: Woman Sues Neighbors For Smoking
International Business Times
Date: August 18, 2017
Summary: Secondhand smoke has forced a cancer survivor to sue her neighbors and the management of her condo in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Are Your Neighbors Sharing Their Toxic Smoking Habits with You?
The Doctors
Date: March 16, 2017
Summary: You may be a nonsmoker, but are your neighbors sharing their bad habit with you? It’s estimated that nearly half of apartment-dwellers are exposed to smoke from a neighboring unit. And with 69 toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke, that’s a big deal.
Unknown exposure to second-hand smoke associated with increased mortality
Science Daily
Date: September 26, 2016
Source: Mount Sinai Health System
Summary: A new biomarker has identified known and unknown exposure to second-hand smoke and confirmed a strong association to increased mortality in non-smokers, according to a new study. The results provide a more accurate way to gauge second-hand smoke exposure than questionnaires, and present a strong case for more stringent limits on smoking and increased preventive screenings for those more likely to have been exposed to second-hand smoke.
Secondhand smoke exposure linked to signs of heart disease: Exposure to tobacco smoke may be more dangerous than previously thought
Science Daily
Date: March 7, 2013
Source: American College of Cardiology
Summary: Nonsmokers, beware. It seems the more you are exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke -- whether it was during your childhood or as an adult, at work or at home -- the more likely you are to develop early signs of heart disease.
Boston’s largest condo goes smoke-free
The Boston Globe
Date: March 21, 2012
Summary: In a sign of the growing reach of public health and antitobacco forces, Boston’s largest condominium complex has voted to go smoke free.
