Bergen County Health Officers are assisting residents with concerns about secondhand smoke in apartments, workplaces, restaurants or other public spaces throughout Bergen County.

The effort helps to eliminate environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) problems on a case-by-case basis and increase public awareness of the dangers of secondhand smoke. ETS is the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., where more than 70,000 nonsmokers die each year from ETS-related heart disease and cancer.

Residents who have been unable to resolve tobacco smoke complaints on their own should contact their local health department. Public health officials will enforce existing laws where they apply and offer assistance to resolve ETS problems, but they caution that laws regarding secondhand smoke are not completely uniform.