--- title: Smoking Ban Proposed for Public Housing description: A federal rule proposed Thursday would ban smoking in public housing nationwide. canonical: https://time.com/4109938/public-housing-smoking-ban/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-12T14:57:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:39:54.605Z article:section: Health og:title: Smoking Ban Proposed for Public Housing og:description: A federal rule proposed Thursday would ban smoking in public housing nationwide og:url: https://time.com/4109938/public-housing-smoking-ban/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd303a9b603b0d49/69868d6c169ab0edd2279199/cigarette-butts.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3702 og:image:height: 2082 og:image:alt: Cigarette Butts og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Smoking Ban Proposed for Public Housing twitter:description: A federal rule proposed Thursday would ban smoking in public housing nationwide twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd303a9b603b0d49/69868d6c169ab0edd2279199/cigarette-butts.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Smoking Ban Proposed for Public Housing > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=ebe9ef63-bdd7-4b2b-a208-0c1aa659d8de&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Smoking Ban Proposed For Public Housing [Watch (HLS stream): Smoking Ban Proposed For Public Housing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1C9DJ6Du.m3u8) (0:48)  _Published 2015-11-12. If a Department of Housing and Urban Development proposal passes, more than 1 million public housing units will be forced to go smoke-free._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 12, 2015 2:57 PM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 12, 2015 2:57 PM UTC A federal rule proposed Thursday would ban smoking in public housing nationwide. [The rule](http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=smoke-freepublichousing.pdf), proposed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, says that eliminating smoking from public homes would “improve indoor air quality in the housing, benefit the health of public housing residents and PHA staff, reduce the risk of catastrophic fires, and lower overall maintenance costs.” The proposal also notes the dangers of secondhand smoke, saying, “Adverse effects of tobacco use are not limited to the smoker.” According to the proposal, the U.S. Surgeon general estimates that 41,000 adult nonsmokers are killed by secondhand tobacco smoke each year. If implemented, the ban would affect more than 700,00 homes. The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposal, and housing agencies would have up to 18 months from the effective date of the final ruling to adopt smoke-free policies. ## Transcript Smoking could soon be prohibited in public housing residences across the country, if a ban proposed by the department of housing and urban development passes. Last year the center's for disease control and prevention estimated the nation could save 153 million dollars each year by making public housing smoke free. The agency estimated a bank could cut health care costs by 94 million dollars, and renovation expenses by 43 million. Dollars. But getting the policy to pass might not be the government agency's biggest obstacle. Enforcement could be tough, considering there are more than a million of the rental units made available for low income families and others who qualify. One public housing resident told the New York Times. You don't know what's going on in people's apartment. What are they gonna do, smell your apartment? 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