CADILLAC - Efforts to make Michigan smoke free took a leap forward Thursday after the Cadillac Housing Commission enacted a no-smoking policy at Kirtland Terrace, the first public housing facility in Michigan to do so.

For the approximate 15 percent of residents that now smoke, however, a grandfather clause will allow them to continue to do so as long as they are living in their current apartment. There is a designated smoking area for guests and future residents who smoke at the senior housing complex.

"In our case, it had been fairly common that I would have residents come down to my office and say, 'I really love living here but there's one thing that is really bothersome and difficult for me to cope with - that I have to contend with the odor of fumes of tobacco smoking,'" said Dan Peterson, director of the Cadillac Housing Commission.
 

In the last few years, Peterson said he waded through Housing and Urban Development regulations and misinformation that it was illegal to ban smoking as a violation of civil rights. Yet, at a recent meeting with housing commission directors from around the state, Peterson learned that was not the case.
 

So he and the five housing commission members spent the past six months really getting things going - interviewing residents, getting legal advice and looking through state and federal laws.
 

The measure was officially approved 4-1 at the June meeting and commissioners put together the ordinance and set a date Wednesday night.
 

Maxine Fichtner, a one-year resident at Kirtland, said she views her apartment as her home and hence she should be able to smoke there. She fully intends to file a waiver.

"Basically, it is (smoke free) except for your own apartment," Fichtner said. "We're basically right where we were."
 

Hazel Jarvis, who has also lived there about a year, said cigarette smoke in the building irritates her lungs and causes her to cough. She is pleased with the board's decision but realizes they can't just take away the right to smoke for those who do.
 

"In a few years, yes, it's going to make a difference," Jarvis said.
 

Tom Olmsted, chair of the housing commission, said the board did its research and made sure it was on good solid legal ground.
 

"Non-smokers certainly like the idea by-and-large because the smoke is offensive to folks," Olmsted said. "The concern is for the smoker. It's an addictive thing so we have to have some compassion for the folks and I agree we do."
 

Residents who do smoke must simply fill out a grandfather form with their name, apartment number and signature by August 19. There is no review process, so anyone desiring a waiver can obtain one. But the waiver is only for the resident in the current apartment and does not apply should the resident move. New residents will not be allowed to smoke in their apartments.
 

Tackling the grandfather clause was an issue in itself. Peterson said basically the commission had three options. The approved one, one that would give a preset grace period for smokers and one that would ban it all together.
 

Still, there are plans to encourage smokers to quit. Although all residents may not be interested, Olmsted said the commission is planning some type of smoking cessation offering.
 

"We're dealing with people who have smoked a long time," Olmsted said. "They didn't just pick it up recently, they've been doing it for a long, long time but we're going to help them if we can."
 

Dr. James Wilson, medical director for District Health Department No. 10, said it is a big deal to see a facility do that on its own.
 

"As a public health issue, second-hand smoke has been proven to cause death and illnesses to others," Wilson said. "It's not just a cosmetic thing, people that work in bars, restaurants, waitresses, children who are around smoke do have lung cancer from passive smoking."
 

The smoke-free movement is big in several states around the country. Efforts around Michigan to encourage smoke-free policies have not been completely successful, Wilson said, but some cities, like Marquette, have passed legislation.
 

"Fifty years from now, I think most of the places will be smoke free," he said. "The attitude is many people don't think the government should be involved in that."
 

But Peterson is already getting calls from other housing commissions interested in doing the same.
 

"This is one of the things that makes me feel we have done the right thing," Peterson said.
 

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