Despite overwhelming and conclusive evidence that nicotine causes serious illnesses and even early deaths, tenants in non-smoking apartment buildings are still smoking in the building(s) and/or in their apartments, putting other tenants, children, and pets, at a high risk of contracting serious life-threatening illnesses that can lead to premature death, even if a person has never smoked a day in their life. In fact, many organizations that highlight smoke-related health issues associated with smoking WARN that secondhand smoke is more harmful than firsthand smoke. The website, Tobacco Stops With Me, states, "Secondhand smoke is a mixture of two forms of smoke that come from burning tobacco: side-stream smoke (the smoke from the lighted end of a cigarette) and mainstream smoke (the smoke inhaled and exhaled by a smoker."Side-stream smoke is more toxic than mainstream smoke, as it has much higher concentrations of cancer-causing substances. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. The dangers of secondhand smoke are immense. It is classified as a Class A carcinogen, as it has been proven to cause cancer in people. Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals — 250 are known to be harmful, and at least 70 cause cancer. In fact, secondhand smoke kills nearly 50,000 nonsmokers each year." According to the American Cancer Society, not only does TOBACCO CAUSE THE DEADLIEST OF ALL CANCERS, BUT IT IS THE SINGLE GREATEST CAUSE OF PRVENTABLE DISEASE AND DEATH. Tobacco use is essentially a slow-motion suicide. There is no distinction between poisonous gases, COVID, and tobacco; they all cause serious life-threatening conditions and, in some cases, a slow, painful death. Thus, cigarette smoke in non-smoking buildings should be treated as seriously as COVID, poisonous gas, or other potentially fatal conditions. More information about the effects of second- and third-hand smoke can be found by clicking the link(s) at the bottom of this petition. Did you know that in the state of RI you could potentially sue someone if you get a smoke-related illness due to their smoking? Why wait to get a possible life-threatening illness to sue someone when smoking can be stopped in your apartment building now before you get sick? Now is the time to take action to safeguard your health! By signing this petition, you are demonstrating to RI lawmakers that you want existing laws amended and/or new laws enacted for corporations that do not adhere to the Federal Government's Non-Smoking Policy, which went into effect on July 31, 2018, to protect tenants and their visitors from second and third-hand smoke. Please sign and/or share this petition, verbally, on social media or other ways, if you are affected by cigarette smoke in your building, know someone who is, or simply want to support this cause. The petition will then be delivered to Rhode Island lawmakers. Please join me in making sure that all RI tenants live in a safe and healthy environment that is free of toxic and deadly smoke. I propose and recommend the following in order to keep the areas all renters occupy safe, healthy, and smoke-free: 1) To ensure management is adhering to the federal rules to keep their non-smoking properties smoke-free and keep their tenants in a safe and healthy environment as promised in their lease, require at least one, or more, of the following to conduct unannounced inspections of apartment buildings, without going into individual apartments: the Health Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), or the Code Department of the town in which the tenant lives. 2) After a tenant has complained in writing to the management of their building about a smoking issue and nothing is done to stop it within a reasonable amount of time, one or more of the aforementioned agencies have the right to inspect the building(s), without entering individual apartments, at any time to look for any violations of the federal government's non-smoking policy. 3) Have corporate penalties imposed on corporations in the form of fines that rise with repeated infractions if smoke is still present on the premises after three inspections. The following are other things that can be done, but not limited to, towards holding corporations accountable for keeping their smoke-free buildings actually smoke-free, and keeping all tenants in a safe and healthy environment as promised in a tenant's lease. A. Make it mandatory for corporations and/or management to purchase high-quality equipment to detect smoke in common areas and in apartments. B) If there is an issue with tenants smoking in the common area(s) so that their apartment does not smell like smoke, require cameras to be installed in all common areas to catch offenders. C) Require all non-smoking buildings to have non-smoking signs put up in every entryway and on every floor, both in the front as well as the back of the non-smoking buildings, or be fined. D) Establish designated smoking area(s) and/or mandate that smokers stay 60 feet, or more, away from non-smoking buildings. E) Allow corporations and management the legal freedom to evict tenants who put their neighbors at substantial risk of serious life-threatening illnesses by continuing to smoke on the non-smoking premises. F) Implement additional measures that corporations can use to guarantee that their tenants are residing in a safe and healthy environment as stated and promised in their lease agreement. To put it briefly, by signing this petition, you are pleading with lawmakers to create new or modify current legislation to make apartment living safer and healthier places to live throughout RI. And for corporations and management to exercise the same caution that they would exercise if their non-smoking buildings were filled with toxic gases. Smoking should not be treated less severely just because it takes tobacco years to harm or even kill us, as opposed to poisonous gases or COVID, which could do so much sooner. May good health be yours. Thank you for reading, sharing and especially signing! Visit the links provided below to learn more about the risks associated with smoking, why secondhand smoke is more harmful than firsthand smoke; how to stop smoking or vaping; how to get involved in the campaign to improve the health and wellbeing of Rhode Islanders, and much more. 1) Tobacco Free Rhode Island - is "a statewide network of organizations and individuals fighting to reduce tobacco and nicotine use-the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Rhode Island. http://www.tobaccofree-ri.org/ 2) The National Cancer Institute (NCI) created Smokefree.gov to help you or someone you care about quit smoking. Smokefree.gov is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ efforts to reduce smoking rates in the United States, particularly among certain populations. Questions Email NCISmokefreeTeam@mail.nih.gov. https://smokefree.gov/ 3) American Cancer Society-Cancer Action Network -"When you join the Rhode Island American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network team as a volunteer and advocate, you will help us to encourage both our federal and state lawmakers to make cancer a priority and support policies that will prevent cancer and benefit cancer patients and survivors." https://www.fightcancer.org/states/rhode-island 4) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - "CDC is one of the major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services." This page provides more information on the dangers of secondhand smoke. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/general_facts/index.htm Here's another CDC link that will take you to aadditional informational from the CDC page. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/secondhand_smoke/index.htm 5) American Lung Association - "The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research." https://www.lung.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjwwdWVBhA4EiwAjcYJEGRg6ha2ZkDA9gDfnuL2YXMeb59TVaMNc3wazOIiNkhxabXdTs3rtBoCWtsQAvD_BwE 6) American Heart Association Brochure - gives you resources on how to quit smoking and vaping. They state in their brochure, "Smoking harms almost every tissue and organ in the body, including your heart and blood vessels. Nicotine, one of the main chemicals in cigarettes, causes your heart to beat faster and your blood pressure to rise. Carbon monoxide from smoking also gets into the blood and robs your body of oxygen. Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke are also harmed." https://www.heart.org/-/media/files/health-topics/answers-by-heart/how-can-i-quit-smoking.pdf 7) Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids - From their website, "We are fighting for health, for kids, for equity, for change, for you. And together, we are Taking on the Toughest Fights." https://25years.tobaccofreekids.org/?utm_medium=ads&utm_source=Google&utm_content=Search&utm_campaign=AlwaysOnSearch&sl_tc=AO-Search&gclid=CjwKCAjwwdWVBhA4EiwAjcYJEOWJPGgUSEF_4nMKbKlyxFYFFRbcekAiGFqCEVJ-GEGysElRQdy8lRoCUNIQAvD_BwE 8) HealthyChildren.org - "is the only parenting website backed by 67,000 pediatricians committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults." On this website you will find articles on a wide selection of health issues that effects children. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/tobacco/Pages/Dangers-of-Secondhand-Smoke.aspx 9) Tobacco Stops With Me - This website, "is an Oklahoma public education intervention highlighting how tobacco use impacts Oklahomans." However, no matter where you live nicotine is still deadly and this site explains why secondhand smoke is more dangerous then first handsmoke and other useful information. https://stopswithme.com/dangers-of-tobacco-products/secondhand-smoke/ 10) Cancer Treatment Centers of America - "is a national, for-profit network of five comprehensive cancer care and research centers and three outpatient care centers that serve cancer patients throughout the United States." You can read an article titled "Busted: 7 Myths About Smoking and Cancer" by clicking on the link below. Did you know that smoking poses a risk for at least 17 different cancers, among them bladder, breast, and pancreatic cancer? This is true, and you will learn why and so much more! https://www.cancercenter.com/community/blog/2020/11/smoking-myths#:~:text=Myth%3A%20Secondhand%20smoke%20isn't%20that%20bad&text=The%20more%20you're%20exposed,CDC)%20says%20on%20its%20website. 11) WebMD - "WebMD is an American corporation known primarily as an online publisher of news and information pertaining to human health and well-being." https://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/quit-smoking