Out in the cold: more elderly residential homes go non-smoking

By next month temperatures will max at freezing point in Burlington, Vermont, and by January they will sink to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-12 celsius). These are temperatures that citizens of the area have known all their lives, so it should come as no surprise that they haven't stopped the introduction of a smoking ban at Decker Towers, a public housing unit for elderly and disabled people operated by the Burlington Housing Authority.*

In an article that has been deleted but is quoted on the Smokers Club Forum, we learn

BHA Executive Director Paul Dettman said the new policy, announced in late February in a letter to residents, is part of a national trend encouraged by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides funding for the housing. The shift is motivated by concerns about the effects of second-hand smoke on residents and by safety concerns.

It continues,

He said BHA has not tested the flow of second-hand smoke in the three Burlington high-rises but has received “infrequent” complaints about smoke from some tenants. 

So: no tests, few complaints, but federal approval. So let's go for it.

Family housing has not been included in the ban because it doesn't create the same fire hazard. So the young and fit are exempt from a ban that will see elderly and incapacitated people lose their homes. How can these people sleep at night?

Senior citizens are now a target of no-smoking evangelists. You can get accreditation for providing smoke-free facilities – see slide 26 in slideshow linked below.

Enjoy this slideshow (and remember that ASH Scotland wishes to remove existing exemptions to the smoking ban – see page 7, 'Beyond Smoke-free' document).

* BHA is committed to equal housing opportunity and will consider reasonable accommodations upon request.