Non-smokers living in Manchester’s public housing are getting a little more breathing room.
A smoking ban goes into effect today for the city’s 1,400 public housing units.
Dick Dunfey, Executive Director of the Manchester Housing and Redevelopment Authority, says it will be a tough transition for some residents.
We totally recognize how difficult this is going to be for certain smokers, but we do believe it's over-ridden by the health benefits for those who live near and with them.
Residents have known the ban was coming for the past year, and were offered free smoking cessation classes. Those caught smoking indoors three times could face eviction.
There's no inherent right of a person in a public housing unit to smoke, and a smoking ban will occur in all public housing units, eventually. It's just a matter of time.
Manchester joins a growing l ist of cities that have banned smoking in public housing. Both Massachusetts and Hawaii are considering statewide bans in public housing.
