Articles and Links
Smoking issues in apartments in
Pennsylvania, United States
October 26, 2016
I will post articles and links as I find them (this can mean daily or frequently during the day).
Please check in for updates.

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Allegheny County
Allentown
Annville
Carlisle
Chester County

Doylestown
Easton
Erie
Harrisburg

Lancaster
Luzerne County
Montgomery County
Philadelphia

Statewide
Sunbury
Washington County
York

Allegheny County

10/3/14

Allegheny County Housing Authority bans smoking at five sites

Pittsburgh Post-Gazaette Five sites managed by the Allegheny County Housing Authority have banned smoking on site, the county announced today.

Allentown

7/12/12 Another setback for smokers The Tribune-Democrat And, yes, it’s illegal in many quarters in Pennsylvania, and if you’re a resident of taxpayer-supported public housing, beware: You just might have to move outdoors to smoke.
7/7/12 Allentown's smoking ban in public housing raises cultural issues The Morning Call Allentown's smoking ban in public housing raises cultural issues
7/6/12 POINT/COUNTERPOINT: Should public housing authorities ban smoking? Allentown Morning Call Allentown Housing Authority this week became only the second in the state to ban smoking in its public housing units. U.S. HUD has suggested, but not mandated, that all authorities do it. Reporter Matt Assad talked to leaders on both sides of the issue:
Public housing smoking ban: It makes a better environment for everyone Q: Why do you think it's right to ban smoking in public housing?
Public housing smoking ban: A landlord can make any silly rule, but that doesn't make it right Q: Why do you think it's wrong to ban smoking in public housing?
7/3/12 Allentown bans smoking in public housing The Morning Call If you live in Allentown public housing, you can still smoke 'em if you got 'em, but starting this week, you'll have to take 'em outside.

Annville

4/3/13 Retirement home changes smoking policy after man's jacket catches fire WHTM ABC 27 News A retirement home has changed its smoking policy after a cigarette caught a man's jacket on fire.

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Carlisle

5/15/13 Letter: Doctors, please help fight smoking policy Cumberlink.com The majority of the tenants are non-smokers, but there are smokers who have lived there for years.
1/20/13 Our View: Make public housing smoke-free The Sentinel The Cumberland County Redevelopment Authority Board must do more to protect residents from the harmful effects of cigarette smoke.
1/14/13 Carlisle residents complain about smokers in public housing complex The Sentinel The Cumberland County Redevelopment Authority Board was approached by residents at one of its senior housing apartments calling for increased smoking restrictions.

Chester County

9/21/13

Chesco housing agency goes smoke-free Philly.com "I stopped because I knew we couldn't smoke no more in here," Dennis, 57, said Thursday afternoon outside the Church Street towers in West Chester, where he lives in public housing."
9/20/13 Chester County Makes All Its Public Housing Smoke-Free CBS Philly There’s a new rule for public housing in Chester County: no tobacco use on the property.
Smoke-free policy takes effect in county housing DailyLocal.com What’s that smell that you no longer catch a whiff of in public housing apartments and town-homes in Chester County?

Doylestown

1/5/14 New ground for smoking ban (requires paid subsicription) The Intelligencer Smokers have evolved into society’s new lepers.

Easton

8/13/14 Phillipsburg Housing Authority restricts smoking at senior high rises; Easton's policy more limited LeHighValleyLive.com Phillipsburg housing officials say they hope restrictions on smoking will reduce secondhand smoke and maintenance costs at three apartment buildings.

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Erie

9/16/13 Erie Housing Authority Weighing Implementation of Tobacco Free Rules YourErie.com One county in Pennsylvania will soon implement a tobacco free policy for its public living communities, but officials say that won't happen here, at least any time soon.
12/17/12 Erie Housing Authority residents split on whether to limit smoking GoErie.com Erie Housing Authority residents are split on whether the agency should go smoke-free.
12/1/12 Erie Housing Authority asks residents whether homes should go smoke-free GoErie.com This year, the authority wants to know something else, as well: Should smoking be prohibited or limited on Housing Authority property?

Harrisburg

2/22/14 State promotes smoke-free multi-unit housing witf.org The state Department of Health is encouraging apartment complexes to go smoke-free.

Lancaster

2/3/14 The smoking Tenant LancasterOnline.com So, Mr. Miller smokes. Big deal. Who is he hurting, anyway?
1/28/14 Many have let down displaced tenant LancasterOnline.com I know personally that he was not the only one smoking in his apartment.
1/23/14 After 13 years, lonely, old man to be kicked out of Lancaster senior tower apartment for smoking LancasterOnline.com Robert W. Miller, 73, is a gentle, soft-spoken man with a lifelong mental health diagnosis facing eviction Friday for smoking in his subsidized apartment.

Luzerne County

10/9/13 Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em? Maybe not in county senior housing TimesLeader.com Luzerne County Housing Authority considering a smoking ban for older residents

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Montgomery County

5/6/16

Montco bans smoking in public housing philly.com The policy prohibits smoking indoors but will allow residents to smoke outside at least 25 feet away from buildings.

Philadelphia

7/20/15 THE SCIENCE OF WHY PHILADELPHIA’S PUBLIC HOUSING IS GOING SMOKE FREE Drexel University News Blog It’s a new policy informed by a solid base of scientific evidence—some of which was generated through evaluation research done in partnership between city agencies and the University School of Public Health 7/18/15

PHA bans smoking in all public housing units

PHILLY.COM The Philadelphia Housing Authority's board of commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to ban smoking in all PHA units.
7/17/15 PHA goes smoke-free, provides Internet access Philadelphia Tribune The authority becomes one of more than 500 nationwide with a program in place that bans smoking in at least a few of their dwellings.
7/17/15

PHA to consider banning smoking in some units

philly.com The Philadelphia Housing Authority on Thursday will consider banning smoking in some of its properties, a move that officials say would make it the largest public housing agency "in the nation to implement such a policy."
10/27/13
Smoke-free rental units growing more popular
Philly.com Smoking even in one's own home may someday be a thing of the past, as more real estate developers and landlords in the Philadelphia region are embracing the trend toward healthy housing.
6/17/13 Will Philly follow Wilmington's lead with smoke-free housing? NewsWorks.org Any family can forbid cigarettes, but smoking foes say those precautions aren't enough for apartment dwellers.
11/28/12 Home: Last bastion for secondhand smoke Philly.com Increasingly, evidence shows a health threat from smoking in an adjacent housing unit, like an apartment, where toxins from secondhand smoke seep through walls, ductwork, windows, and ventilation systems.

Statewide

3/14/14 State wants landlords to ban smoking Philly.com Twenty-one percent of Pennsylvania's adults smoke cigarettes. And if Michael Wolf has his way, none should be able to light up if they live in apartment or condominium complexes.

Sunbury

1/4/14 Sunbury high-rises smoke-free NewsItem.com The Sunbury Housing Authority announced Thursday a smoke-free policy effective Jan. 1 that prohibits tobacco use indoors at Chestnut Tower and Scott Tower.

Washington County

11/27/15 Local housing authority's policy predates federal 'no smoking' initiative Observer Reporter A fire three years ago – triggered by a cigarette – that injured 13 residents of public housing in North Charleroi prompted Washington County Housing Authority to ban indoor smoking in all apartments it manages.
3/1/12 Washington County Housing Authority smoking ban starts today
Trib Live News Washington County Housing Authority smoking ban starts today

York

9/29/12 'No smoking' coming to York housing authority properties ydr.com Housing Authority of the City of York to eliminate smoking in buildings.
6/15/12 York, PA public housing to ban smoking Facing Cancer Together People living in York County's public housing will no longer be able to smoke in their homes starting this fall.
6/13/12 York Housing Authority Smoke-free Housing Policy Housing Authority of the City of York Effective October 1, 2012, all current residents, all employees, all guests, and all new residents of the Housing Authority of the City of York after this date will be prohibited from smoking inside the buildings including the housing units.

"But now God has shown us a different way to heaven - not by "being good enough" and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us - declare us "not guilty" - if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious ideal; yet now God declares us "not guilty" of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins." Romans 3:21-24 Living Bible