Berg CJ, Haardörfer R, Windle M, Solomon M, Kegler MC. (2015). Smoke-free policies in multiunit housing: smoking behavior and reactions to messaging strategies in support or in opposition. Prev Chronic Dis. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd12.140479

A significant number of U.S. adults live in multi-unit housing (MUH). In the absence of smoke-free MUH policies, residents in these establishments are at risk of being exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS), which easily travels through apartment doors, stairwells, cracks, and vents. Smoking restrictions in MUH complexes may reduce smoking and exposure to SHS.

This study investigated residents’ reactions to select messages they were provided with on smoke-free MUH policies. Eleven messages were provided in support of smoke-free MUH policies and nine opposing them.

Messages that focus on individual rights may be the most effective approach for building support for smoke-free MUH policies and for countering resistance to those policies.