According to the  U.S. Surgeon General, there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke and the California Air Resources board designated secondhand smoke as a toxic air contaminant.

Environmental tobacco smoke or secondhand smoke is the smoke exhaled by a person who smokes tobacco (cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, pipes and hookah). Unfortunately, when someone smokes in their apartment, the smoke drifts into units above, below and next to that person's unit. It drifts through windows, doors, heating, air conditioning, pipes and wall sockets.

Every year secondhand smoke kills 4,700 nonsmokers in California and 53,000 nationwide. Secondhand smoke exposure can cause lung disease, heart disease, and cancer. Children, the elderly and people with illnesses are most at risk from the toxins of secondhand smoke.

There are approximately 69,000 multifamily housing units in Sacramento where there may be limited to no protection from secondhand smoke. Therefore, we the undersigned support smoke-free multifamily housing laws!

This petition brought to you by the Sacramento Taking Action against Nicotine Dependence (STAND), a project of Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails. Funded by California Department of Public Health under contract #10-10201.