Source:
USA TodayFrom California to Maine, at least 36 public housing authorities have made their apartments smoke-free, says Jim Bergman, director of the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project.
Housing officials say they made the change to protect non-smoking tenants from secondhand smoke, prevent cigarette fires and reduce the cost of rehabbing smokers' apartments.
"Smoking does affect the health of your neighbor, and that's where we have to draw the line," says Wayne Pyden, executive director of the Marysville Housing Commission in Michigan. The commission manages a 132-unit building whose low-income residents are elderly or disabled. Secondhand smoke is a concern because air is recirculated and smoke travels into other units, he says.
It costs about $3,000 to prepare a non-smoker's apartment for the next tenant, but a smoker's unit runs as high as $6,000 because of additional painting, cleaning and carpet repair, says Paul Franco, a housing manager in Rancho Mirage, Calif., which began a smoking ban in January.
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-04-public-housing-smoking_N.htm