On Thursday, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is formally proposing a nationwide ban on smoking in all public housing, making nearly a million households smoke-free. "The argument about secondhand smoke is over," HUD Secretary Julián Castro told The New York Times. "It's harmful, and we believe it's important that we have an environment that's healthy in public housing."
A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that a nationwide smoking ban in public housing would save about $153 million a year in health care and building maintenance costs, and some public housing authorities have already enacted bans. But other public housing groups expressed concern about how such a ban would be enforced. The biggest challenge will be for the New York City Housing Authority, the nation's biggest, with some 400,000 people in 178,000 apartments and no smoking ban in place. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal, and if finalized, public housing authorities have 18 months to enact the bans.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deporteeSpeed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't lastSpeed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's ShapiroSpeed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia UniversitySpeed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrantSpeed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
-
Two judges bar war-powers deportationsSpeed Read The Trump administration was blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members
-
Trump pauses some tariffs but ramps up China taxSpeed Read The president suspended most 'reciprocal' tariffs for 90 days and raised his tariffs for China to 125%
-
Ukraine nabs first Chinese troops in Russia warSpeed Read Ukraine claims to have f two Chinese men fighting for Russia
