Springfield public housing: smoking ban will be difficult to enforce

A new federal rule that bans smoking in public housing will be difficult to enforce in Springfield and Clark County.

The Springfield Metropolitan Housing Authority has begun to discuss its policy on the ban, board member Kent Sherry said. The rule was announced by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in late November, according to the Associated Press.

“From a health standpoint it’s a good thing,” Sherry said. “From a standpoint of cleaning the units it’s also a good thing because it’s more cost effective to clean a unit that doesn’t have a smoker in it.”

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The SMHA has asked other public housing agencies about how to enforce this rule, he said, including the agency in Pittsburgh. The SMHA will likely replicate the policies its learned from.

“Probably these people will be given a warning,” he said, “and then if they’re caught a second time we will probably start initiating some kind of eviction notice.”

The enforcement would come from building managers or landlords, he said. But it will difficult, he said, especially in stand alone public housing that is scattered across the county.

“It’s almost impossible unless we happen to smell it or we happen to see that going by,” he said.

The rule is unenforceable and unfair, according to Cole Manor resident Nicole Lemen.

She doesn’t smoke herself, she said, but her friends often come over and smoke in her apartment.

“People have made the choice to smoke,” she said, “and they should be able to smoke in their own home.”

She thinks the rule will be ignored, especially during the winter months.

“They shouldn’t be made to smoke outside in the cold when it’s warm inside,” she said.

Plus she worries her friends may stop visiting her if the ban is enforced.

“I want them to be able to hang out with me inside,” she said. “I don’t want to make them go outside in the cold.”

The rule will go into effect in February, Clark County Health District Commissioner Charles Patterson said, and the SMHA has 18 months to implement the policy.

“Any policies that restrict smoking are going to potentially reduce the number of cigarettes that people smoke and therefore will potentially have a positive effect on their health,” Patterson said.

The health district will offer assistance to the SMHA with the new policy, he said, to help people follow it. It’s begun to stockpile brochures and other materials to help people quit smoking, he said.

“Enforcement is not what we’re interested in,” he said, “We’re interested in assisting people to comply with the law.”

Most residents will not have a problem complying with the ban, Sherry said, as most residents don’t smoke.

“It violates their space also,” he said, “and their health when the smoke is out there or in the area. They’re very aware of the benefits that can derive from not smoking.”

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