Featuring Ellen Childs, PhD, from Boston University School of Public Health and Vaughan Rees, PhD, from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Build success with effective enforcement. Someone who smokes where smoking is prohibited is violating the policy. Enforcement of the smoke-free policy is similar to enforcement of other building policies, like noise or pet restrictions. Be consistent, fair, positive, and pragmatic.

Build success by helping smokers comply with the policy. Some residents who smoke may not be ready or able to stop smoking, but you can work with them to help them comply with the policy.

Build success by supporting cessation among smokers for whom a smoke-free housing policy may provide motivation to quit.

Build success by partnering with local agencies and organizations. Community partners can advise during planning, education residents during implementation, and help support cessation.

Build success by training staff on how to effectively share information about the policy and the importance of consistent enforcement.

Build Success by engaging residents. Residents can be a strong asset in planning, communication, implementation, and compliance efforts.

Developing effective smoke-free policies requires clear language about why the policy is being adopted, where smoking is and isn't allowed, who is responsible for reporting and investigating violations, and how the policy will be enforced.

More than one-third of adult public housing residents in the US smoke—totaling approximately 400,000 smokers, putting other residents and staff at risk of negative health effects.

Housing and health systems need to work together. Public housing authorities (PHAs) are significant providers of housing to those in need, offering the health sector scale and expertise. Little was known about how PHAs worked with the health sector writ large.

Housing may influence health through various mechanisms and is recognized as a social determinant of health. This study investigated the influence of rental assistance on modifiable health risk factors and behaviors using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics.

In this article, we explore current law concerning residential smoking regulations and consider whether the implementation of a nationwide ban on smoking in public housing would be desirable.

This fact sheet describes how a landlord may legally prohibit smoking in common spaces and individual units, and explains how to implement a smokefree policy in compliance with the rent control law, where applicable.

This guide is intended to provide information to public health department staff and advocates about the many public agencies that make policy decisions and implement projects  related to the physical environment.

In Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Housing Authority, Boston Public Health Commission, the city’s Inspectional Services Department, the Boston Foundation, and local universities and medical institutions have come together over the last decade-plus to address the intersection of health and housing.

Unprecedented descriptive analysis linking HUD administrative data and results from the National Health Interview Survey (pre-Affordable Care Act)