It’s never easy to adjust to change — especially when that change affects your freedom of choice.

The upcoming smoking ban at public housing units across the country has outraged residents everywhere. In Cleveland, residents who live in CMHA units believe the ban is completely unfair. It calls for no smoking in any public housing unit or within 25 feet of the property and residents caught smoking after receiving warnings from property management could be evicted.

One resident says she believes that the ban could be tough on families, telling reporters, “I don’t think they should lose their home for that. There are too many people out here with families, and they have to consider that. I love to abide by the rules or whatever.  But to tell you the truth, you really can’t tell a person what they can and can’t do on their own property, and they’re paying rent and everything.”

According to CMHA spokesperson Cortney Crockett, the housing authority will host a series of public meetings in the coming months and is already offering programs to help residents kick the habit. The smoking ban is to be implemented within the next 18 months at public housing complexes across the country.

Source: News 5