Dear Executive Director,
On February 3, 2017, HUD’s
regulation entitled, “Instituting Smoke-Free Public
Housing Rule” became effective. The Rule prohibits
the use of all lit tobacco products and hookahs (or water pipes) inside all units,
common areas, PHA administrative offices, and in all areas within 25 feet of
buildings.
This will reduce the risk of fires, exposure
to second-hand smoke, and smoke-related maintenance costs, benefitting all PHA
staff and residents—including more than 760,000 children and 329,000 senior
residents. PHAs that administer public housing have 18 months to fully
implement a smoke-free policy, by July 30, 2018.
HUD and its public health partners are committed to providing you with
resources to support your smoke-free
implementation process. To help you with planning and evaluating your community’s
existing smoking policies, HUD issued new guidance yesterday on Instituting and Enforcing Smoke Free
Public Housing Policy.
It includes information about:
- Amendments to PHA Plans
- Lease Amendments
- PHA Flexibility
- Signage
- Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)
- Funding
- Designated Smoking Areas
The guidance offers enforcement and
monitoring tools, encourages graduated enforcement, and clarifies requirements
for reasonable accommodation requests. It also provides links to HUD’s Smoke-Free
Toolkits
and Action Guide.
In addition to this guidance, HUD is
developing a series of upcoming fact sheets and webinars. I encourage you to consult
these resources in developing and implementing your community’s Smoke-Free
policy.
Thank you for working to improve the
lives of your residents and building safer communities.
Yours in service,
Jemine A. Bryon
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