TORONTO – Smoking is allowed at Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) residences for now. But a conversation has started that may force tenants to butt out.
“We want to see if we can spark their interest and having at least some of their units go smoke free.” said Lorraine Fry, the Executive Director of the Non-Smokers’ Rights
Association. “But hopefully we’d prefer it was like Waterloo or Ottawa where their entire units could go smoke free.”
Fry and Toronto Public Health officials met with TCHC officials in the Spring to talk about going smoke free. There has been no movement to implement a smoke free policy since then.
“It comes down the hallway, and he (neighbour) was a chain smoker and he smoked cheap cigarettes and the smell was just obnoxious,” said Graeme Shepley.
Shepley is a tenant of TCH. He used to be a smoker, but quit almost one year ago. He said he would support a smoke free policy, even if he was still a smoker.
“Probably wouldn’t like it at first. But it would be a good idea because that’s how I first started to quit by not smoking in the apartment,” he said.
There are approximately 100 social housing providers in Ontario that offer a no-smoking policy. Ottawa Community Housing became the largest housing provider in the province to ban smoking in May 2014.
“That was a lengthy and thorough process because we’re talking 18 months of consultation,” said Stephane Giguere, the CEO of OCH. “Surveying the tenants, engaging with the tenant association.”
Giguere said that consultation was the biggest part of the process and that it provided more direction.
“Sixty-nine per cent of the respondents told us actually they would prefer a non-smoking environment.”
Ottawa has 15,000 units and about 32,000 tenants. Giguere said the health benefits were obvious but the other efficiencies were not.
“When a tenant moves out or we need to renovate an apartment there is less maintenance to do because you don’t have the smoke effect on the wall or appliances,” said Giguere. “And from a fire risk point of view, we are reducing the risk from an insurance point of view.”
Toronto Community Housing has 58,500 units. Spokesperson Sara Goldvine said the organization welcomes more conversation around the issue but said it will take time.
“We serve a diverse array of residents. We have a lot of residents and we need to take the time to do it right.” said Goldvine. “There is not going to be an overnight solution.”
Fry said a Canadian tobacco use monitoring survey found that 80 per cent of residents who live in multi-unit dwellings in Ontario, would choose smoke free housing if it was offered to them.
“There is people out there. The demand is huge,” said Fry. “And the supply does not even begin to meet the demand.”
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