The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed in November that more than 3,100 public housing agencies across the country become smoke-free.
This is a change that would safeguard the health of 2 million Americans who are exposed to secondhand smoke. Among them are 760,000 children and 300,000 adults over 62.
The proposal came with a two-month public comment period, which many of the nation’s leading health organizations used to argue for the plan.
Bernard Dreyer, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told HUD, “There is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure for children.” Harold P. Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, urged HUD to “quickly finalize this life-saving regulation.”
Their comments were echoed by other groups including the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The coalition urged HUD to go further than its original proposal by extending the ban to e-cigarettes and hookah and by forbidding smoking on playgrounds—both reasonable ideas.
The HUD rule would improve not just health but safety. Smoking is the top cause of fire deaths in multi-unit housing. Five years ago, smoking was responsible for 17,600 residential fires that took 490 lives, caused 1,370 injuries and led to $516 million in damage.
For the sake of breathable air and safe living quarters, HUD should enact this sensible housing policy.