Department of Housing and Urban Development Must Act Quickly to Save Lives and Resources

Washington, D.C. (October 2, 2014)—

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published today in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease finds that making government subsidized housing in the U.S. smokefree would reduce healthcare and housing-related costs by $497 million each year.  The savings would come from reduced healthcare costs attributed to secondhand smoke exposure; cost of renovating smoking units and fires caused by smoking.  This study adds to the mounting list of reasons why the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must act quickly to require all multi-family housing under its control be made smokefree.  

The study also provides state-level cost savings, as well.  For example, requiring all government subsidized housing in New York to be smokefree would save $125 million in New York.

“Children, the elderly and disabled are at the highest risk for health complications because of exposure to secondhand smoke.  Immediate action by HUD is needed to protect our nation’s most vulnerable,” said Harold P. Wimmer, National President and CEO of the American Lung Association. 

Secondhand smoke contains many poisons, and exposure to these toxins poses health concerns for all individuals, particularly children and pregnant women. The 2006 U.S. Surgeon General’s Report details how even small amounts of exposure can have serious health effects, including causing or exacerbating asthma attacks and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), as well as lung cancer, heart disease and respiratory infections.  The 2014 U.S. Surgeon General’s Report causally linked secondhand exposure to strokes for the first time.

“No one should ever be exposed to secondhand smoke, including in multi-unit housing,” added Wimmer. “Secondhand smoke exposure causes lung cancer, asthma attacks and other serious diseases.”

Evidence shows that residents of multi-family housing are exposed to secondhand smoke even if they live in a unit where no one smokes. Nearly 63 million of the 79 million Americans who live in multi-family housing do not allow smoking in their homes, but approximately 28 million of them reported that secondhand smoke still infiltrated their homes from other nearby units according to an earlier study published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

The American Lung Association is working diligently nationwide to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke in multi-unit housing, including in subsidized housing where some of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens live.  The Lung Association also has a number of tools and resources available on smokefree multi-unit housing, all available at www.lung.org/smokefreehousing.  This includes the Lung Association’s “Smokefree Policies in Multi-Unit Housing: Steps for Success,” an online course designed to educate health advocates, property managers and others on the steps needed to create and implement such policies.  The Lung Association also has a brief animated video that explains the topic and issue briefs in English and Spanish on the importance of making multi-unit housing smokefree.

“As we wait for HUD to act, the Lung Association urges all property owners and managers to protect their residents and make their buildings smokefree,” said Wimmer.

In 2013, the American Lung Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and 17 other medical and public health organizations filed comments with HUD urging the agency to adopt a smokefree policy covering all multi-family housing under its control.  This study confirms that a smokefree policy in all subsidized housing, in conjunction with comprehensive quit-smoking health benefits, would drastically improve public health and save the nation millions of dollars in the process.

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About the American Lung Association Now in its second century, the American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. With your generous support, the American Lung Association is “Fighting for Air” through research, education and advocacy. For more information about the American Lung Association, a holder of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide Seal, or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit www.lung.org.