VAN BUREN — During a recent meeting the Van Buren Housing Authority (VHA) Board of Commissioners approved a plan to make all of its properties 100 percent smoke-free as of Jan. 1, 2012.
VBHA Executive Director, Steve LaPierre, stated, “the Board’s support for this initiative is a proactive measure to improve the health of our residents and protect the integrity of our buildings. Our residents, particularly those who are senior citizens, have disabilities, as well as the children in our family developments are impacted the most by this problem.”
“Approximately 70 percent of VBHA residents and applicants for public housing are non-smokers,” added Lapierre, “and their interests and health deserve this consideration. This does not mean our tenants can’t smoke, they just can’t smoke inside our buildings.”
“Secondhand smoke knows no boundaries,” said Tina Pettingill, chairperson of the Smoke-Free Housing Coalition of Maine. “It travels under doors, through electrical outlets, pipe chasing, etc. and there is no ventilation system in existence which prevents that invasion from one unit to another. We applaud Van Buren Housing Authority for taking the steps necessary to protect all of their tenants from the thousands of toxins in secondhand smoke.”
Furthermore, VBHA is looking forward to saving on the cost of repairs and maintenance from the damage caused by secondhand smoke and cigarettes including burned flooring and countertops, and nicotine stained wall surfaces. Turning over a unit where smoking is allowed is about five to seven times more expensive than costs associated with a non-smoking unit.
By implementing a 100 percent smoke-free policy, Van Buren Housing Authority will be joining all the other housing authorities within the state, as they are the last to adopt a smoke-free policy. VBHA has received help and ideas from other housing authorities in the state and they’ll continue to receive assistance from groups like the Smoke-Free Housing Coalition of Maine and the Power of Prevention, their local Healthy Maine Partnership,” laPierre said.
“Though the goal of this policy is not for everyone to quit smoking, we know that some people will want to try. We will be providing education and smoking cessation programs and services to the residents of VBHA as an important part of the implementation plan,” said Rebecca Bowmaster, Power of Prevention Partnership director.
