The Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) Board now has a no-smoking policy for all of its properties and will begin to phase it in from July to December, 2016.
Residents of high-rises will no longer be able to smoke in their apartments or common areas, and instead will have to go outside to smoking areas that CMHA says will be well lit, with overhangs, and as comfortable as possible.
People who live in row houses must be at least 10 feet away from doors and windows.
When asked what the penalty would be if residents continued to smoke, CMHA CEO Greg Johnson said "We know that this is tough for people, especially if they've been smoking for a long time, and we're going to have to play this on a case by case basis."
CMHA has teamed with community partners to offer cessation counseling free of charge to people who live in its public housing.
Johnson says smokers can still apply for public housing and they will receive the same opportunities as non-smokers.
Residents will learn more about the plan at a series of meetings beginning in May.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is leading the charge nationwide for smoke-free housing. It published in 2009 and reissued it in 2012.
