Hamyang-gun Designates 'No.1 Smoke-Free Apartment'... Resolving Residents' Complaints Due to Odor

Promotion of Smoking Cessation and Guidance of No-Smoking Areas Through a 2-Month Adjustment Period

No. 1 Non-Smoking Apartment Designated as Daeseong Town Apartment [Image source=Hamyang-gun]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] On the morning of the 20th, Hamyang-gun, Gyeongnam Province, designated Daeseong Town Apartment in Hamyang-eup as Hamyang-gun's first non-smoking apartment and held a plaque ceremony for the non-smoking apartment with the residents.

A non-smoking apartment is a system that, according to Article 9, Paragraph 5 of the National Health Promotion Act, allows the designation of all or part of common areas such as hallways, stairs, elevators, and underground parking lots as non-smoking zones if more than half of the household heads agree and apply for the designation of a non-smoking area.

Daeseong Town Apartment is located near Wiseong Elementary School, Hamyang Middle School, and Hamyang Jeil High School, where the number of households with students is increasing. The apartment residents' association treasurer, who was concerned about the residents' difficulties caused by cigarette odors, actively promoted the initiative by visiting residents one by one to obtain their consent, resulting in 64.2% approval from residents and designation as Hamyang-gun's first non-smoking apartment.

Once designated as a non-smoking apartment, a non-smoking apartment plaque and banner will be posted at the apartment entrance, and non-smoking apartment information will be distributed and promoted to residents. After a two-month guidance period, non-smoking enforcement will begin in the designated areas from December 21, with a fine of 50,000 KRW imposed for smoking violations.

A health center official stated, “We hope that the designation of non-smoking apartments will establish a culture of non-smoking in public places and create conditions for residents to practice healthy living themselves, resulting in a smoke-free healthy residential environment. We will continue efforts such as guidance, inspection, and promotion of non-smoking zones.”