Make your home smoke-free for Healthy Homes Month

June is National Healthy Homes Month and one way to ensure a healthy home is to make it smoke-free. Over the last few years many apartment owners in North Platte, including North Platte Housing Authority, have adopted smoke-free policies for their buildings.

Community Connections Tobacco Free Lincoln County has a message for residents who are still exposed to secondhand smoke in their apartments: Talk to your landlord about making the change.

The reasons are simple: health, reduced renovation costs and reduced fire risks.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that secondhand smoke causes ear infections in children, more frequent and severe asthma attacks and even sudden infant death syndrome. It also reduces lung development in children.

People of all ages are affected. Secondhand smoke causes bronchitis and pneumonia and increases the risks of stroke, coronary heart disease and lung cancer. Even quick exposure can damage the lining of blood vessels and make blood plates stickier, increasing the risk of heart attack, reports the CDC.

In addition, there are over 7,000 chemicals in secondhand smoke, and 70 are known to cause cancer.

Tobacco Free Nebraska (TFN) reports that apartment owners have another reason to adopt smoke-free policies: renovating an apartment that has been smoked in can be up to seven times more expensive than renovating a smoke-free apartment.

Regarding fires, TFN reports that not only are fires more likely in apartments were smoking is allowed, but the fatality rate is nearly four times higher, when the fire is caused by smoking. fires.

Tobacco Free Lincoln County maintains a registry of smoke-free apartments in the area, at www.CommunityConnrctions LC.org/tflc.