Kudos to a Bellevue apartment complex for going smoke-free this year.

Members of Tobacco Free Sarpy in March presented a plaque to Highland Meadows Apartments of Bellevue for implementing a 100 percent smoke-free policy in all units as of January 1, 2011. 

Tobacco Free Sarpy presented Property Manager Margaret Stamp a certificate of appreciation for her leadership and support of a safe and healthy smoke-free environment.

Pictured from left, Tobacco Free Sarpy members and Property Manager Stamp: Hanneka Brown, Margaret Stamp, Joan Friedman, and Dorothy Shamblen. 

According to the Adult Tobacco Survey/Social Climate Survey, 85 percent of Nebraskans reported in 2009 that they smoking was not allowed in their homes. That was reported in the Data and Trends on Tobacco Use in Nebraska April 2010.

Because cigarette smoke drifts from apartment to apartment, smoke-free apartments are a great choice. Smoke-free apartments provide health benefits for residents and staff who work in them.  Smoke-free apartments also saves maintenance and rehabilitation costs.

Residents in multi-unit buildings cannot control if they are exposed to smoke caused by their neighbors. Smoke-free policies ensure that residents are protected from secondhand smoke.

Ventilation and air purifiers cannot completely control secondhand smoke. Experts like the Center for Energy and Environment, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers, and the U.S. Surgeon General have commented on the need to eliminate cigarette smoking rather than try to ventilate it.