Esman feels to ban something that’s legal, like smoking a cigarette, could lead to a much bigger problem for HUD and communities the agency assists. “I don’t see anyone smoking outside or in the building”, she said. “I like to look out for other people’s well being”, McKay said.
Advertisement
Last month, a law banning smoking in vehicles carrying children came into force in England and Wales – which could result in fines of £50 for violators. “What are they going to do, smell your apartment?” “It comes down to them, seeps into their units”, Smiley said.
Frustrations ignited after the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it wants to ban smoking inside its residences and 25 feet outside any of its building. The Dept. of Housing and Urban Development has long urged smoking bans in public housing, but it has left rule-making and enforcment to local authorities. Through student surveys, they found a significant drop in smoking prevalence in Indiana University but not Purdue University, and that Indiana University students were more likely to report fewer peers smoking.
There are 26 housing authorities in South Dakota, managing public housing. “The other half are families with children”, she said.
Elizabeth Green, 59, another resident who smokes, agrees.
But not everyone is against it. Bashan Issac, a former housing employee, told 11 News he sees the benefits; however, he thinks it will be very hard to enforce. With a few 400,000 people living in 178,000 apartments, Nycha is the largest public housing agency in the country.
Prohibiting smoking in public housing would save an annual $94 million in health care costs related to second-hand smoke, $43 million in renovating units and $16 million in smoking-related fires, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated in 2014. It’s an intrusive rule, she said. “Like, that’s ridiculous. It feels like you’re targeting”.
“Who is going to monitor that?” (And of course, you have to worry that people under threat of eviction may exaggeration the extent of their compliance with the new rules).
But HUD predicts the measure would save money by reducing fire hazards and the maintenance associated with cleaning up apartments where tenants smoke.
But the proposal has already met with resistance from a few residents who believe it would be an infringement of their right to make personal choices about their lives.
Advertisement
“The argument about secondhand smoke is over”, Julián Castro, the federal housing secretary, said in an interview Wednesday.
