Smoke-Free Housing Units on the Rise

More public housing sites in Michigan are going smoke-free, according to Jim Bergman, co-director of The Center for Social Gerontology, Inc., in Ann Arbor, Mich., which operates the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project (SFELP). At the end of 2008, there were approximately 28 public housing commissions in that state with smoke-free policies for some or all of their buildings, covering over 3,500 units.

While Michigan is one of the pace setters in the nation in the realm of smoke-free multi-unit housing, this is a national trend as well. Both the National Apartment Association and the National Multi-Housing Council have highlighted smoke-free housing as a growing movement, telling their members that smoke-free policies are good for business as well as health.

At the end of 2008, three were at least 102 local public housing authorities in the U.S. with smoke-free policies for some or all of their buildings,” said Bergman. In addition to Michigan, public housing authorities with smoke-free policies exist in 17 states, including: Minnesota, Maine, California, Nebraska, Colorado, Washington, New Hampshire, Oregon, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Montana, Kentucky, and Alaska.

To find out more about the smoke-free program, go to http://www.mismokefreeapartment.org.