Tom McArthur needs to make a decision this week.

McArthur, 71, has lived in the Charles Ford Terrace elderly housing complex for the past four years. He wants to stay, but to do so he must sign a lease agreement that will require him to stop smoking in his apartment or on any Warwick Housing Authority premises, as of January 2011.

McArthur has tried giving up cigarettes. He’s gone “cold turkey,” tried gum as a substitute for nicotine and even bought the “electric” cigarettes that give the illusion of smoking.

“Nothing is working. I’ve tried all my life to quit,” he said in an interview at the complex. Several other tenants also objected to the policy. They also complained of conditions, such as mold and leaks that have not been addressed.

The Charles Ford Terrace tenants are not alone.

Meadowbrook Terrace residents recently complained about the smoke-free policy, as well as new regulations prohibiting flags attached to their porches. Porches in the complex are undergoing $500,000 in renovations with stimulus funding but Meadowbrook tenants also have complaints about mold, security and the mix of younger tenants that has resulted in some disturbances requiring police intervention.

“To me it’s a threat, blackmail, whatever you want to call it,” McArthur said of the no smoking policy within all Housing Authority complexes by next year. Those who will occupy the authority’s newest complex – Shawomet Terrace – have to agree not to smoke within the units, as do new tenants to any of the older existing units.

McArthur calls the requirement, “Hitler tactics.”

William Quirk, chairman of the Warwick Housing Authority board, said no smoking policies are the trend among Department of Housing and Urban Development units across the country. He said the authority is looking at the feasibility of designated outdoor smoking areas at the complexes.

Michael Lyckland, authority executive director, said yesterday there have been discussions but no decisions on designated areas. He also said the authority is pursuing getting counseling for smokers with outside agencies.

As for McArthur’s case, Lyckland said the smoke-free policy is part of the lease and not signing means McArthur won’t have a lease.

“It’s something he’s going to have to decide for himself,” he said.

She gave up smoking when cigarettes hit 35 cents a pack, but Ginger Hawkins, a tenant at Charles Ford, thinks existing tenants should be exempt.

“Smoking, that’s not something you can turn off like a light,” she said.

Hawkins is skeptical that the policy has anything to do with safety and health, as cited by the authority.

“I think it’s insurance,” she said. “I think it’s money-motivated and they don’t give a damn about our health.”

For McArthur it’s not an easy decision. He said he doesn’t know where he would live if it wasn’t for the complex.

“I would have to go live in a car somewhere,” he said,

“They have no compassion for elderly people.”

He has called the American Civil Liberties Union, which turned down his request to represent him. He has asked Legal Aid for help.

“They are taking my rights away,” he said. “The next thing they are going to tell me when I can go to the bathroom.”

McArthur said yesterday he hadn’t gotten a return call from Legal Aid.

He also put in a call to HUD.

“There’s no one in the legal system that wants to handle this,” he said.

Aside from smoking, Hawkins said she is aware of mold in some of the complexes and had heard that the authority was aware as well. Charles Ford tenant Carol Kennedy reported that during a heavy rainfall last fall, water seeped into her half-basement apartment, soaking a portion of her living room and bedroom carpeting. She reported the condition and was told action could only be taken in the spring.

Kennedy said she appreciates the housing that enables her to make ends meet. She said she had to sell her house after her long-time boyfriend developed Alzheimer’s and had to go into managed care. She said she never would have kept up with taxes and the costs on her Social Security and SSI payments.

Concerned that it could lead to mold, Lyckland said the authority cleaned Kennedy’s carpets. He also said, because of her individual health concerns, the authority is looking to move her to a ground floor apartment.