Posted on 07/31/2018 3:00:59 PM PDT by Drango
Smokers can no longer light up in or near public housing facilities in the U.S. due to a new rule that went into effect July 31. The nationwide ban on smoking in public housing was implemented nearly two years after the rule was passed by the Obama administration in 2016.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) now prohibits the use of cigarettes, cigars and pipes in all public housing units and common areas, as well as any outdoor areas up to 25 feet from public housing and administrative office buildings. The ban does not apply to e-cigarettes, snuff and chewing tobacco, although there may be restrictions on those in some areas.
HUD says about 228,000 public housing units under more than 600 local agencies were already smoke-free, and the new rule wipes out smoking in more than 940,000 other units. The ban is expected to save government housing agencies $153 million a year in repairs and health care costs, including $16 million for costs tied to smoking-related fires, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in 2014.
HUD said the new policy would reduce health hazards from secondhand smoke and encourage residents to quit smoking.
The ban on smoking products must be included in public housing tenants' leases, HUD says. Tenants will not be evicted for a single instance of smoking, but could face eviction after several smoking violations.
For those who want help to quit smoking, officials recommend calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) toll-free to talk to a trained coach, or go to www.smokefree.gov.
I recall Obama saying he still smokes a little sometimes and has tried to quit at times.
Thus, it was always illegal when he smoked at the White House and its grounds. Thus, he goes to jail, right?
Where are the insider Obama era books mentioning that?
“”The ban is expected to save government housing agencies $153 million a year in repairs and health care costs,””
“health care costs” - that’s stretching it, isn’t it? Of course there’s nothing in the regulation pertaining to ANY health care costs but by golly, it’s going to save money there!
I don’t think applauding government paternalism is a good precedent for Conservatives.
“If you can afford to buy cigarettes, TAXPAYERS don’t need to subsidize your housing. DUH”
Are liquor, sugar, fatty goods “banned” as well? So if taxpayers pay for it, the government can control what you can and can’t do with a product that is legal. We’re from the government and we are here to help you decide what to do with your body. The government is hiding their fascist tendencies by saying the taxpayers pay for it.
“Take the King’s coin, live by the King’s rules.”
The King wears no clothes.
Another piece of Obama that needs to be erased.
I’m not a smoker, don’t care for it, but if someone else wants to do so, I’m fine with it.
And since this is from The Error Era, it needs to be removed.
“users have already disabled them by removing the batteries.”
i would think that the detectors would be wired into the power mains and not battery driven ...
Have you ever seen what they buy at the grocery store, and then get an employee to push the multiple carts to their Caddy Escalade? The 2-3 cartons of cigs are a minor part of the problem.
Can you chaw or take snuff? Really, poor people are the most frequent smokers in my experience. Maybe that’s what keeps them poor. I don’t think this will end well.
When you can’t afford a pack, you buy loosies. It’s illegal for stores to sell them, but in poor neighborhoods they do. Just Open a pack or ten, keep the loose cigs neatly tucked away in a drawer, and back in my smoking days they charged ten cents for a loose cigarette, no taxes no nothing. Probably gone up now.
“Marijuana use in any form is not permitted in public housing.”
So of course nobody ever smokes it./s
This was passed by the Obama Administration in 2016. Trump and Carson are cursed with enforcing it. Why not also have a No Premarital Sex in Public Housing reg while they’re at it. Couples must prove they are married before signing a lease.
Smoking is the ultimate weight loss program.
Yeah... sure...
Let the Jonesing begin.
Oh . . . and it’s Trump’s fault.
Just another landmine left behind by “The Great ObamaNation”.
It may be a law, but it will be ignored as we all know. It will be discriminatory toward the poor and people of color.
Anyhoo, who the heck is going in to enforce it? Hah ha, they will run for their life.
Yeah... sure...
It is really, REALLY worse than sad...
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