OGDENSBURG -- The Ogdensburg Housing Authority will now have to go smoke-free.

On Wednesday, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro announced that public housing developments in the U.S. will have to ban smoking.

Public housing authorities in Massena, Canton, Brasher Falls and Norfolk have already adopted smoke-free policies.

The Ogdensburg authority is among more than 3,100 public housing agencies now required to implement smoke-free policies within 18 months of the final rule being adopted. The Seaway Valley Prevention Council estimates this will be roughly around July 2018.

The rule prohibits the use of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and hookahs in the all indoor areas and prohibits use of tobacco products within 25 feet of buildings.

“The rule with help to improve the health of more than 2 million public housing residents, including 760,000 children. It is estimated that $153 million each year will be saved from secondhand smoke attributable healthcare, repairs of smoke-permitted units and smoking attributable fires. Prohibiting smoking in public housing alone would save $58 million in New York State,” the council claims in a news release. “Everyone deserves to breathe clean air and yesterday’s announcement means that people living in HUD-funded public housing units in New York State will no longer be exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes.”

Prevention council officials encourage housing authority directors call Chelsea Bartlett at the council for assistance in adopting their policy at 713-4861

“Ms. Bartlett’s organization can assist local housing authorities with signage, tenant education, policy adoption and policy compliance,” the prevention council’s statement says.