News
April 4, 2017Rensselaer Housing Authority Going Smoke-Free on April 1
The Rensselaer Housing Authority (RHA) announced today that its apartment communities will be smoke-free effective April 1, 2017. As required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the smoke-free policy will apply to all indoor spaces, including all 146 units, and 25 feet away from buildings.
Rensselaer Housing Authority first began considering a no-smoking policy in 2015 after residents initiated complaints of secondhand smoke seeping into their units. A survey of residents showed that a majority did not smoke. Residents have since been notified of the policy and meetings were held to gather feedback and invite conversation. The administration received only one unfavorable response when residents were asked to sign the smoke-free policy lease addendum.
“We went smoke-free because we think our residents and our staff deserve to live and work in a healthy, smoke-free environment. We would have gone smoke-free whether or not HUD required it because it just makes sense,” said Marianne Ogren, Executive Director and once a long-time resident of RHA. “I raised my kids here. I think every child and resident who calls RHA home should be able to breathe free and not endure exposure to harmful secondhand smoke.”
Secondhand smoke is a carcinogen that poses serious health threats, especially to children, pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and asthma. In multi-unit housing, the movement of secondhand smoke cannot be controlled.
“It’s important to remember that a smoke-free policy is about the smoke and not the smoker,” said Jeanie Orr, Project Coordinator for Capital District Tobacco-Free Communities. “When someone smokes in multi-unit housing, that smoke finds its way to other units and results in involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke. Smokers don’t have to move and give up their apartments. They’re just being asked to smoke outside and away from the buildings.”
HUD’s new rule requiring all public housing authorities to implement a smoke-free policy by July 30, 2018 went into effect on February 3, 2017. HUD has been strongly encouraging local public housing agencies to adopt smoke-free policies since 2009. To date more than 700 public housing authorities in the U.S. and at least 38 in New York State have voluntarily adopted smoke-free policies. In the Capital Region, both Albany and Troy housing authorities went smoke-free in all their units on January 1, 2016. Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority adopted a smoke-free policy for the communities housing elderly and disabled residents in April 2012.
