Douglas County Health Department focusing on smoke-free housing

The Douglas County Health Department wants 11,000 people to have access to smoke-free housing by the fall of 2014.

Douglas County has been working on a smoke-free housing initiative for the past six months. Community Health Educator Aja Anderson is leading the project. She says the Health Department wants 129 multi-unit housing complexes to be smoke-free in the next two years.  "Our other goal is by September 29, 2016, to increase the number of people with access to smoke-free living environments to 30,000. So right now we are at 2,749 individuals, which puts us at about 24 percent of our goal."

Multi-unit housing complexes are those with at least six units.

The Metro Omaha Tobacco Action Coalition or MOTAC says 70 percent of Douglas County residents would choose smoke-free housing over similar housing where smoking is allowed, according to a 2005 survey.