Reduction of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Transfer in Multifamily Buildings

Abstract

This study was completed as part of a research project focused on environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in apartment buildings. Minnesota renters, who comprise 25.4% of Minnesota households and who disproportionately include minorities, low income households, and young adults, have no guarantee of a smoke-free place to live. As a result, they are sometimes exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) entering their apartments from other apartments, from hallways or other common areas of their building, or from balconies, patios or grounds outside the building -- a phenomenon that we refer to here as “ETS transfer” or “secondhand smoke transfer.” The two goals of this project are to build a sound base of knowledge that will facilitate the designation of smoke-free apartment buildings and the treatment of smoking permitted buildings to minimize ETS transfer. This report summarizes the results from field studies to evaluate the effectiveness of air sealing and ventilation treatments to reduce ETS transfer.