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HUD Housing Developments To Soon Be Smoke Free

Public Housing Agencies will soon be implementing a required smoke-free policy.

On Nov. 30, Julian Castro, U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary, announced that public housing developments in the U.S. will now be required to provide a smoke-free environment for their residents. In an address to local public housing officials, residents and public health professionals in Boston, Mass., Castro said HUD’s new rule will provide resources and support to more than 3,100 public housing agencies to implement required smoke-free policies during the next 18 months.

Throughout the year, HUD officials worked with public housing agencies and stakeholders collaboratively to finalize the new smoke-free environment, which prohibits lit tobacco products — cigarettes, cigars or pipes — in all living units, indoor common areas, administrative offices and all outdoor areas within 25 feet of housing and administrative office buildings.

Jeff McCheskey, Jamestown Housing Authority executive director, said he knew HUD officials were working to make all public housing smoke-free, but hasn’t received an official notification.

”I know it has been an item on their (HUD) front burner, but we have no plans until it is mandated by HUD,” he said. ”We will have to do it once it is mandated for all federally subsidized housing.”

The Jamestown Housing Authority operates the Hotel Jamestown Building, located at 110 W. Third St., the Father Rafael Senior High Rise, located at 303 W. Fifth St., and the Chadakoin Centre Apartments, located at 114 W. Third St. McCheskey said currently residents are only allowed to smoke in their apartments, with no other designated smoking areas.

”If they smoke in their apartment, they’re in compliance,” he said.

Since 2009, HUD has strongly encouraged public housing agencies to adopt smoke-free policies in their buildings and common areas, a policy many private housing developments already have in place. In March, the board of Buffalo’s public housing authority, the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, voted unanimously to ban smoking in their buildings. The ban will go into effect Jan. 1, 2017.

HUD officials said their smoke-free rule will reduce damage and maintenance costs associated with smoking.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HUD’s national smoke-free policy will save public housing agencies $153 million every year in repairs and preventable fires, including $94 million in secondhand smoke-related health care, $43 million in renovation of smoking-permitted units and $16 million in smoking-related fire losses. It is estimated that smoking causes more than 100,000 fires each year nationwide, resulting in more than 500 deaths and nearly a half a billion dollars in direct property damage.

”We are encouraged by this new HUD ruling and applaud the (Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority) for the work they’ve already done toward implementing a tobacco-use ban by Jan. 1 to promote the health of its residents, including protecting them from secondhand smoke,” said Ken Dahlgren, Tobacco-Free Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties community engagement manager. ”Healthier homes for our children and their families mean healthier communities throughout our region.”

The CDC estimates cigarette smoking kills 480,000 Americans each year, making it the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. In addition, smoking is the lead cause of fire-related deaths in multifamily buildings. HUD’s smoke-free rule will protect the health of public housing residents by reducing the health risks associated with tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.

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