BOSTON -- A new report creates guidelines that would restrict smoking in multi-unit housing in Massachusetts.

The Asthma Regional Council of New England urged all New England states to develop and promote smoke-free housing policies in its report "A Case for Smoke-free Housing." Right now, Maine is the only state in the region that has adopted smoke-free rules.

"There is no longer any question about the extreme health dangers of second-hand smoke. The home is where most children are exposed, and those exposures can cause cancer, asthma attacks and SIDS," said Laurie Stillman, Executive Director of ARC. "If we agree as a society that it makes sense to protect children against lead, radon and asbestos in the home, then why not extend this rationale to tobacco smoke?"

Nearly 75 percent of non-smokers were bothered by smoke drifting into their home from other apartments, according to a recent survey by the Boston Area Tobacco Control Coalition.

When Bay State resident Dana Whidden moved from her single-family home to a multi-unit housing complex, the smoke from her downstairs neighbor, a heavy smoker, entered her apartment and she said she began suffering with asthma and respiratory infections.

"After nine months, my housing manager moved me to an apartment without smoke entering it, and my symptoms greatly improved," Whidden said.

The Tobacco Control Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is becoming involved in promoting smoke-free housing in the state, and officials said that they hope to launch a Smoke-free Housing Registry, much like Maine has.