Stoptober sees Council housing tenancies go smokefree
Stoptober sees Council housing tenancies go smokefree
Creating healthy homes for its social
housing tenants, providing a safe workplace for staff, and
taking good care of the city’s assets are among the
benefits Wellington City Council is seeking with a decision
to expand its smokefree policy in its housing
sites.
Under the City Housing Smokefree Policy 2016,
all new tenancies signed from 1 October 2016 will be
smokefree. That means smoking is prohibited inside the
unit.
This expands on the existing smokefree policies
at City Housing: in 2015, all communal areas were designated
as smokefree and upgraded. New apartments have been
smokefree since 2014. Other existing tenancies are not
affected by the 1 October change, though tenants can
voluntarily register their unit as smokefree.
The
principle behind this policy is that tenants have a right to
live in a smokefree environment and the benefits of making
our housing smokefree are pretty clear,” says Councillor
Paul Eagle, Chair of the Social and Recreation Committee.
“As a social landlord, Council has a responsibility to
provide healthier homes, as part of our focus on improving
tenant wellbeing.”
“What we don’t want is for
anyone addicted to smoking to fear they won’t still be
supported and welcomed as a tenant. This is not about not
smoking; it’s about keeping smoke away from certain spaces
and from other people and their belongings. We are just
asking smokers to have respect for their neighbours who
don’t smoke, and for the property they live
in.”
Council understands some tenants will find the
policy difficult, staff will be taking a compassionate
approach, and are able to refer tenants to
support.
UNICEF NZ is delighted Wellington City
Council shows leadership in protecting tenants from exposure
to second-hand smoke.
"It's easy for policymakers and
councillors to forget just how many children are reliant
upon the social housing stock. Their rights to clean air and
a safe healthy home are what this policy is protecting and
ensuring," says Dr Prudence Stone, Child Rights Advocate for
UNICEF NZ. "Second-hand smoke is something all children need
protection from because it increases the risk of sudden
unexpected death of an infant, asthma attacks and other
respiratory illnesses, ear infections and eye irritations,
as well as normalising smoking, putting exposed children at
risk of taking up the deathly habit themselves."
City
Housing’s smokefree strategy was first developed in 2012.
The initial focus was on ensuring tenants knew how to access
free quit smoking services, and, using its annual Tenant
Satisfaction surveys, gauging tenants’ opinions on smoking
within City Housing.
By 2015 there was a clear mandate
for putting some smokefree areas in place, with 79% of
tenants responding to the survey reporting to be non-smokers
and more than half of respondents, including some smokers,
supporting a smokefree stance (*57% wanted City Housing to
be smokefree; 20% were unsure and only 23% were against
going smokefree).
*City Housing Tenant Satisfaction
Survey 2015
Further information: May 2015 Media
release announcing smokefree communal spaces