NEWS
TORONTO’S
FIRST VAPE ONLY
CONDOMINIUMS
HOUSING DEVELOPER OPTIONS FOR HOMES
IS BANNING CIGARETTES FROM ITS NEW CONDOS
BUT E-CIGARETTES ARE ALLOWED
BY STAFF REPORTER
Options for Homes, a non-profit Canadian home developer, has
announced it will bring the first ever smokeless condo building to
the housing market this summer.
The Humber project will see the construction of a multi-unit, family-
friendly condo of mainly two and three-bedroom suites for families.
It features a “Smoke Less” initiative where residents will not be
allowed to smoke traditional cigarettes in the complex but will be
able to consume nicotine and cannabis via e-cigarettes and
vaping devices.
Options’ CEO Heather Tremain said: “We know from surveying
our potential purchasers that there’s deep interest in smoke-free
buildings. We think this idea of Smoke Less speaks to peoples’
concern about the impact of smoking while respecting individual
choice and understanding that we’re on the cusp of a major cultural
shift when it comes to cannabis. We feel that restricting smoking
while permitting vaping strikes the right balance between the best
interest of many and the personal rights of the few.”
Some of the most common complaints from condo residents revolve
around smoking such as unwanted smoke transf er, discarded
cigarette butts and fire risks. Options for Homes wanted to address
that with their new development.
The Smoke Less initiative also reflects both the wider acceptance of
e-cigarettes as a viable alternative to smoking and the forthcoming
legalization of cannabis in Canada.
Residents at The Humber will only be allowed to vape in their own
condos but both smoking and vaping will be banned in common
areas including elevators, stairwells, hallways, parking garages,
laundry facilities, lobbies, outdoor spaces and entertainment rooms.
It will also restrict growing cannabis on balconies or in homes.
Options for Homes conducted extensive research ahead of their
decision to proceed with the project, consulting multiple studies to
see if such a change would effectively reduce the smoking rates
in their buildings. The company sent out a survey to 7,000 people
listed as “potential purchasers” which questioned them on their
attitudes towards smoking, vaping, cannabis use, and how their
beliefs would inform their decision to purchase.
They had 800 responses, two thirds of which stated, “they would be
more likely to purchase in a smoke-free building,” with 13 percent
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of those respondents claiming it wouldn’t make a difference in
their decision. Almost half (49 percent) of respondents said they
would be, “more likely to purchase” if cannabis was restricted to
e-cigarettes, with 28 percent saying it wouldn’t make a difference
and 13 percent would be “willing to switch to a vape device” to
use cannabis. As many as 80 percent said it wouldn’t make a
difference either.
Options also found “12 percent of respondents said they’d be willing
to switch to a vape device for tobacco, while 81 percent said the
question was not relevant to them.”
The developer said the survey showed “the majority of our potential
purchasers favour restrictions on smoking and that there is a
willingness to find alternatives to combustible smoking.”
It also consulted studies on the health implications of e-cigarettes
as compared to regular cigarettes to determine whether such a
policy would reduce the overall impact of smoking. Public Health
Consequences of E-Cigarettes, a January 2018 study from National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine stated “There
is conclusive evidence that completely substituting e-cigarettes
for combustible tobacco cigarettes reduces users’ exposure to
numerous toxicants and carcinogens present in combustible tobacco
cigarettes.”
Similarly, a March 2017 study on toxin exposure in long-term
e-cigarette users from Annals of Internal Medicine concluded that
long-term e-cigarette use, “is associated with substantially reduced
levels of measured carcinogens and toxins relative to smoking only
combustible cigarettes.”
RESTRICTING SMOKING WHILE
PERMITTING VAPING STRIKES THE
RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN THE BEST
INTEREST OF MANY AND THE PERSONAL
RIGHTS OF THE FEW