Jump to full article: Boston (MA) Herald, 2010-02-02
Author: Boston Herald Editorial Staff
Intro: Boston Mayor Tom Menino's plan to ban smoking in city housing may draw some controversy. But the mayor has used some hard numbers to back up his call for a gradual transition to entirely smoke-free public housing by 2014.
Yes, there are critics who argue that the city has no business serving as the smoking police, and that the restrictions being proposed discriminate against poor people who can't afford to move.
But Menino has the numbers - not to mention a growing national trend - on his side.
For example, it costs the city (read: taxpayers) about $600 to clean and prepare a public housing unit before it can be rented to a new tenant. But it costs six times that - $3,600 - to prepare a smoker's apartment before it changes hands (replacing stinky rugs isn't cheap).
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