The Experience With Smoke-Free Policies in Affordable Multiunit Housing in North Carolina: A Statewide Survey.

Abstract Purpose. Previous surveys of housing operators have identified concerns about enforcement, legal issues, and loss of market share as the main barriers to implementing smoke-free policies in multiunit housing. The purpose of this study was to examine enforcement practices as well as economic and legal outcomes in smoke-free affordable multiunit housing. Design. Cross-sectional. Setting. Affordable multiunit housing in North Carolina. Subjects. Affordable multiunit housing properties (n = 1063, 57% response rate). Measures. Property representatives completed a written survey with questions regarding the existence of smoke-free policies, smoke-free policy implementation and enforcement practices, and smoking-related costs. Analysis. Descriptive statistics, χ2 goodness-of-fit test, and t-test. Results. A total of 16.5% of properties had policies that prohibited smoking in all residential units. Half (49.8%) of smoke-free properties reported no violations to their policies in the past 12 months. Legal...