Smokers living in public housing across the the U.S. may soon find engaging in their favored activity in peril if a proposed federal rule announced Thursday goes into effect.
Marking the latest initiative to curb unwanted exposure to secondhand smoke, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) smoking ban would impact nearly one million households nationwide and would also require common areas and administrative offices on public housing property be smoke-free, according to the Associated Press.
HUD Secretary Julian Castro says that the rule would save about $153 million a year in health care costs, repairs and preventable fires.
Despite its lofty aspirations, the restriction could face resistance from residents who feel that it is within their right to do whatever they please within their own homes.
"What I do in my apartment should be my problem, as long as I pay my rent," Brooklyn public housing resident Gary Smith told The New York Times.
The impact of the prohibition would be most heavily felt by the New York City Housing Authority (Nycha), which houses more than 400,000 people in about 178,00 apartments. Despite being the largest housing agency in the country, it has lagged behind other agencies in the country in adopting smoke-free policies.
For example, the Philadelphia Housing Authority banned smoking in all of its public housing units in July after a poll revealed that 55 percent of respondents would support living in a smoke-free environment, according to Philly.
The public has 60 days to comment on the rule. Public housing agencies would then implement the ban 18 months after the rule is finalized.
