Seattle Housing Authority Proposes Banning E-Cigarettes in Low Income Public Housing

[Placebo Effect]

This is disgusting.

Policy changes - Seattle Housing Authority

Apparently public comment period closed on September 30th.

Non-Smoking Areas Smoking will not be permitted in individual apartment homes or the common spaces of a SHA community or facility of any type, unless otherwise specified.

Definition of smoking: The term “smoking” means inhaling, exhaling, breathing or carrying any lit cigar, cigarette, pipe, electronic cigarette, or other tobacco product or similar product in any manner or in any form.

* Individual apartment homes are defined as the interior and exterior spaces tied to a particular unit. This includes, but is not limited to, bedrooms, hallways, kitchens, bathroom, patios, balconies and unit entryway areas.

* Designated smoking areas will be indicated on each property's map if applicable.

http://www.seattlehousing.org/news/p...king-DRAFT.pdf

Their next meeting is November 8th at 7:30 a.m. in the First Floor Conference Room at 120 6th Ave N in Seattle.

Board of Commissioners - Seattle Housing Authority

[Eddie.Willers]

Wow - that's some wide ranging definition of 'smoking' there!
So, "carrying" a "tobacco product" (NRT patches?) or "similar product" (candy cigarettes?) is forbidden even if it is not being "used"?

Unenforceable, if you ask me!

[Thulium]

If it is electronic, it is not "lit"...or are they banning penlights?

[Placebo Effect]

Commissioner Yufus Cabdi -- Yxcabdi@hotmail.com
Commissioner Nora Gibson -- norag@elderhealth.org
Commissioner John Littel -- jlittel@nwcarpenters.org
Commissioner Juan Martinez -- No e-mail available
Commissioner Doug Morrison -- dhmrm@yahoo.com
Commissioner Kollin Min -- kollin.min@gatesfoundation.org
Commissioner Heyward Watson -- heyward@impactcapital.org
Executive Director Tom Tierney -- ttierney@SeattleHousing.org

E-mail addresses for the Board of Commissioners: Yxcabdi@hotmail.com, norag@elderhealth.org, jlittel@nwcarpenters.org, dhmrm@yahoo.com, kollin.min@gatesfoundation.org, heyward@impactcapital.org, ttierney@SeattleHousing.org

Please send civil e-mails requesting that the Board of Commissioners remove smoke-free e-cigarettes from the smoking ban proposal. When contacting politicians, always remember that they may not even be aware that e-cigarettes are included, and calling them morons (as much as you may think it to be true) is not the way to get results.

Also, please let me know if any of the e-mails come back undeliverable.

[samuraijill]

Definition of smoking: The term “smoking” means inhaling, exhaling, breathing or carrying any lit cigar, cigarette, pipe, electronic cigarette, or other tobacco product or similar product in any manner or in any form.

So if you just don't whip out your bic and light up your pv, you're cool, as far as I can tell. As another poster said, unenforceable I think.

[Placebo Effect]

So if you just don't whip out your bic and light up your pv, you're cool, as far as I can tell. As another poster said, unenforceable I think.

It's utterly enforceable, but that doesn't mean that the low income residents won't be bullied into the smoking section nonetheless. These are the people who have the least resources (both financially and skill-wise) to engage in a legal battle over a definition.

No surprise that draft policy mentions that the King County Health Department, which originally wanted to ban e-cigarettes altogether before settling on a ban in public places where smoking is not permitted, will be offering their ineffective 'cessation' services to the low income residents.

[kristin]

How would they ever know if someone was using an e-cigarette in their individual housing unit?? Very stupid.

From what I can tell, from the way it's written, you can "carry" an e-cig in public spaces, it just cannot be "lit."

[Placebo Effect]

I just spoke to Doug Morrison. He's a resident of the low-income public housing in Seattle and he is the tenant rep on the Board of Commissioners. Very nice guy -- actually a smoker who I'm hoping Kim from the Vaporium will help quit.

He said he had previously asked that they take a look at removing e-cigarettes, and he's very happy to get some more information from me.

Yufus Cabdi, another Commissioner, replied to my message on Facebook that he wasn't aware that they are included and wanted some more info. Mr. Morrison mentioned that Cabdi hadn't been involved much in the smoking ban process.

[MattZuke]

From
Executive Staff - Seattle Housing Authority

Deputy Executive Director of Finance and Administration

Andrew Lofton
206-615-3500 (Tel)
206-615-3504 (Fax)
alofton@seattlehousing.org

-------------------------------------

See also their e-mail addresses for official inquiries
Executive Director

Tom Tierney
206-615-3500 (Tel)
206-615-3504 (Fax)
ttierney@seattlehousing.org

Deputy Executive Director of Finance and Administration

Andrew Lofton
206-615-3500 (Tel)
206-615-3504 (Fax)
alofton@seattlehousing.org

Deputy Executive Director of Development

Al Levine
206-615-3481 (Tel)
206-615-3539 (Fax)
alevine@seattlehousing.org

Chief Financial Officer

Shelly Yapp
206-615-3390 (Tel)
206-615-3474 (Fax)
syapp@seattlehousing.org

Housing Operations Director

Rod Brandon
206-615-3511 (Tel)
206-615-3484 (Fax)
rbrandon@seattlehousing.org

Director of Housing Advocacy and Rental Assistance Programs

Lisa Wolters
206-239-1523 (Tel)
206-239-1770 (Fax)
lwolters@seattlehousing.org

Director of Development

Stephanie Van Dyke
206-615-3525 (Tel)
206-615-3539 (Fax)
svandyke@seattlehousing.org

Director of Housing Finance and Asset Management

Ann-Marie Lindboe
206-615-3553 (Tel)
206-615-3539 (Fax)
alindboe@seattlehousing.org

Director of Strategic Planning and Communications

Virginia Felton
206-615-3506 (Tel)
206-615-3504 (Fax)
vfelton@seattlehousing.org

General Counsel

James Fearn
206-615-3570 (Tel)
206-615-3509 (Fax)
jfearn@seattlehousing.org

Human Resources Director

Dean Barnes
206-615-3323 (Tel)
206-615-3398 (Fax)
dbarnes@seattlehousing.org

[Uma]

The tenants would never be able to afford a good lawyer to prove they did not light up their eCig. Why have one if you don't light it up...

Shoving people into homeless situations because of portable juice vaporizers is more than appalling. I hope they come to their senses before the kids get out shoved onto the streets because poor nicotine addicted Mom switched from smoking to vaping.