Bellevue fire prompts new talk of smoke-free apts.

A fire that destroyed a 12-unit apartment building in Bellevue, Nebraska, has the city council considering again, whether smoking should be prohibited in multi-unit housing. The fire was caused by improperly discarded smoking materials. Fortunately, nobody was injured or killed.

Many apartment complexes in North Platte and Lincoln County already have smoke-free rules. Fire risk is not the only reason for that. Smoke from one apartment can travel throughout a building, and is a major reason that many people, especially low income adults and their children, are exposed to secondhand and third-hand smoke by no choice of their own. Smoke, even when you cannot see it, can have serious health effects. There is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure. The particles that stay behind in surfaces are also dangerous to breathe.

Another reason for smoke-free rules is that smoke damages walls, carpets, cabinets, furniture, etc., and can necessitate VERY costly renovations.

Secondhand and third-hand smoke are responsible for ear infections in children, other respiratory infections in children and adults, premature and low birth weight babies, higher risks of sudden infant death syndrome, reduced lung development in children, lost school days and work days, medical expenses, etc., and can be a major asthma trigger. It is also carcinogenic.

To read the story about the Bellevue apartment building, go to https://www.wowt.com/2021/03/22/apartment-smoking-ban-resurfaces-after-belleuve-building-fire/