Cigarette smoking is prohibited in all public houses in the United States for the next 18 months, according to U.S. government officials. The officials announced last Wednesday the banning of the usage of any cigarette products in all public houses, including all apartments, administrative offices, in 25-feet buildings, and indoor public areas. The aim of the ban is to lower the exposure of Americans to second-hand cigarette smoke, which is the cause of many deaths in the United States.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that cigarette smoking is the top cause of preventable death and disease in America, causing over 480,000 deaths each year or 1 of each five deaths. With this, the government plans to lessen the exposure of people to secondhand cigarette smoke by banning any use of tobacco products in public houses. On Wednesday, US Department Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials have officially announced the total banned from tobacco products use in all public housing developments in the United States.
The prohibition includes any use of cigars, hookahs, pipes and cigarettes in all US living units, except for electronic cigarettes. Government officials said that secondhand smoke could enter an apartment from other lodgings through cracks, ventilation systems, plumbing, electrical lines and doorways. Activating ventilation systems, blowing fans and opening windows doesn't remove secondhand cigarette smoke.
The ban is planned to protect netizens, especially children, from the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke. "Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, healthy home free from harmful second-hand cigarette smoke," New York Daily News quoted Julian Castro, Secretary of the Department Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as saying.
The Quad-City Times has learned that presently, over 228,000 public housing developments are smoke-free and the new regulation will upsurge that figure to more than 940,000 residential units. The ban will affect 2 million citizens, including over 300,000 senior citizens and 760,000 kids, living in over 940,000 public houses, the Parent Herald has learned.
