UCLA Recieves $3M to Combat Secondhand Smoke in L.A. Apartment Buildings

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research received a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to combat the effects of secondhand smoke on low-income Latino and black families living in Los Angeles-area apartment buildings, the university announced Tuesday.

“You shouldn’t be exposed to a known health risk just by virtue of where you live,” said Steven P. Wallace, associate director of the center. “This project is designed to make home a safe and healthy place for some of the most vulnerable populations in Los Angeles.”

The three-year Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health will be used to help implement a “community action plan” to reduce residents’ exposure to smoking and secondhand smoke in multi-unit apartment buildings. The center will work in conjunction with Smokefree Air for Everyone, a coalition of groups and health agencies that works to educate apartment owners and managers about ways to enact anti-smoking regulations.

UCLA officials noted that Latinos represent nearly half of Los Angeles’ population, and about 56 percent of Latino families live in multi-unit buildings. About 11 percent of the city’s population is black, and roughly 54 percent of black families live in multi-unit housing. According to the university, the Latino and black populations are vulnerable to chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and children are particularly susceptible to the effects of secondhand smoke.

— City News Service