South Georgia No-Smoking Policy

Some south Georgia public housing residents will soon have put out their cigarettes at home. The Lee County Housing Authority Board approved a new no-smoking policy for all 98 units in Leesburg and Smithville. Albany Housing Authority leaders told us they'll consider the same policy for their more than one thousand properties in the coming months. The Lee Board says health, safety, and maintenance concerns are behind the new rule. "You also find with smokers that you get residue left in the apartment, clogs up filters, puts a film on the walls and such, and leaves an odor so when one resident moves out that's been smoking to try to get it prepared for a non smoker who might be coming in who has allergies and such, it becomes an issue," says Dan McCarthy, Director of Housing Authority. The no-smoking policy takes effect January 1st for all tenants in Lee County