Advocates urge smoke-free public housing

By Kennebec Journal Staff report April 24, 2008 01:43 PM

AUGUSTA — The State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Smoke-Free Housing Coalition today urged the state’s housing authorities to make their housing units smoke-free by Jan. 1, 2009.

Smoking is the the top cause of residential fire-related deaths in Maine and the United States, the two groups pointed out. And a quarter of those who die in home fires caused by smoking products are not the smokers, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

In multi-unit housing, the threats of residential smoking are magnified. Smoking exposes tenants to harmful carcinogens, boosts maintenance costs for landlords and puts tenants in the line of related fires.

Fifteen of Maine’s 25 housing authorities have made their public housing units smoke-free.

   Original Source:  http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/025981.html