It's all about improving your health.

Raymond and Liz Harner, owners of CG Pro Bikes, 127 N. Main St.,  working with Allen County Public Health have developed a smoke-free property at the bike shop, the Curling Iron, 129 N. Main St. and their residential units on the second floors of their building. 

Signage indicating that the property is smoke-free is posted at several places on the property, including the parking lot behind the building and at the entry ways.

This is a project of the Allen County Creating Healthy Communities program through the health department. The goal is to reduce secondhand exposure to tobacco smoke.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro announced that public housing developments in the U.S. will now be required to provide a smoke-free environment for their residents.

This rule will reduce damage and maintenance costs associated with smoking. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HUD’s national smoke-free policy will save public housing agencies millions of dollars every year in repairs and preventable fires, renovation for smoking-permitted units and smoking-related fire losses. 

It will also save millions in secondhand smoke-related health care costs.  “Protecting people from secondhand smoke saves lives and saves money,” says CDC Director, Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.  “This is especially important in the places where we live.  No level of secondhand smoke exposure is safe, and the home is the primary source of secondhand smoke for children. 

As a reminder, officials at Allen County Public Health remind folks to always step outside to smoke.  It’s getting colder out, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to smoke inside. Everyone deserves to breathe smoke-free air, especially in their homes.  Protect your family and neighbors and always step outside to smoke.