Obama administration proposes banning smoking in public housing

The Obama administration has proposed banning smoking in public housing, a move that would affect more than 940,000 households.

The change would improve the health of the 760,000 children and 500,000 elderly who live in public housing, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which announced the proposed rule Thursday.

Banning tobacco in public housing also would save $153 million a year, including $94 million in health care related to secondhand smoke, $43 million in renovations and $16 million in smoking-related fire losses, the agency said. Smoking causes 100,000 fires a year, which cause 500 deaths.

Under the rule, smoking would be banned in all apartments, as well as indoor common areas and outdoor areas within 25 feet of housing or administrative office buildings. The federal agency will accept public comments on the proposal for 60 days. The change would take effect within 18 months of the rule becoming final.

About 58 million Americans, including 15 million children, are exposed to secondhand smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking kills 480,000 Americans a year, making it the leading cause of preventable death. Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and at least 69 that cause cancer.

“Everyone – no matter where they live – deserves a chance to grow up in a healthy, smoke-free home,” said Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. "There is no safe level of secondhand smoke."

The CDC reported Thursday that the adult smoking rate fell to a record low of 16.8% in 2014, down from 17.8% in 2013. Researchers have credited the decline in smoking to several key policy changes, including higher taxes on cigarettes and smoke-free laws that have made it more difficult to light up in public.

The change will affect groups with some of the highest smoking rates, said Vince Willmore, a spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. More than 26% of those with incomes below the poverty level smoke. Secondhand smoke exposure is highest among children, especially African-American children, and among those living in poverty and rental housing. "Making public housing smoke-free will help protect the health of groups that suffer most from tobacco-related disease and death," Willmore said.

The Department and Housing and Urban Development has pushed public housing agencies ban smoking since 2009. Because of those efforts, 228,000 public housing units are already smoke-free.

“We applaud the housing department’s leadership in protecting hundreds of thousands of children living in public housing from secondhand smoke,"  said Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus, which advocates for children's health. "It is unacceptable that two out of five children in America are exposed to secondhand smoke, especially when asthma is the most common childhood disease. By stopping the creep of secondhand smoke through doors and cracks into the lungs of our kids, HUD’s proposal saves lives and money."

Jamila Michener, an assistant professor of government at Cornell University in New York, called the proposal "misdirected energy." Underfunded public housing agencies won't be able to enforce a smoking ban, she said.

“Public housing residents are among the least healthy populations in the country," Michener said in a statement. Rather than banning smoking, the federal housing agency "should focus on getting them signed up for Medicaid and registering them to vote."

In many states, she said, people who are eligible for Medicaid fail to apply.

"Public housing projects are ideal sites for enrolling beneficiaries," Michener said. "This will do immeasurably more for health than attempting to police smoking habits."