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In 2014 to 2015, 86.8% of adults aged 18 years and older reported a smokefree home environment.
Introduction
Many individuals and families, including both smokers and non-smokers, have adopted voluntary smokefree rules for their homes, reflecting a change in community social norms. For children, smoking in the home is the main source of exposure to SHS. Studies have found that adoption of smokefree home rules is a significant predictor of smoking cessation success. To protect non-smokers living within public housing, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has adopted a rule making all public housing smokefree. This rule was implemented in July 2018.
Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a mixture of the side stream smoke released by a smoldering cigarette, pipe, hookah/waterpipe, or cigar, and the mainstream smoke exhaled by a smoker. SHS is a complex mixture containing thousands of chemicals, including formaldehyde, cyanide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, and nicotine. More than 250 of the chemicals in SHS are known to be harmful, and at least 69 are known to cause cancer.
Conclusive scientific evidence documents that SHS causes premature death and disease in children and adults who do not smoke. Exposure to SHS by adults has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system, and long-term exposure to SHS causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer. Children exposed to SHS are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, more severe asthma, respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth.
There is no risk-free level of exposure to SHS, and only eliminating smoking in indoor spaces fully protects nonsmokers from exposure to SHS. Due to shared ventilation ducts and other related airborne conduits, SHS exposure may occur within multi-unit housing by smoke drifting to the homes of non-smokers.
Measure
The percentage of respondents reporting a smokefree home.
Healthy People 2020 Target
- Increase the proportion of smokefree homes to 87 percent.
Healthy People 2020 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Note: Goals are indicated as blue line on Detailed Trend Graphs.
Data Source
National Cancer Institute. Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Supplement for “home smokefree policies” measures.
Trends and Most Recent Estimates
By Sex
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Both Sexes
|
86.8 | (86.5 - 87.0) |
Male
|
85.7 | (85.3 - 86.0) | |
Female
|
87.8 | (87.5 - 88.1) | |
By Race/Ethnicity
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
All Races
|
86.8 | (86.5 - 87.0) |
Non-Hispanic White
|
86.3 | (86.0 - 86.6) | |
Non-Hispanic Black
|
81.5 | (80.7 - 82.2) | |
Hispanic
|
90.9 | (90.2 - 91.5) | |
By Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Ages 18-24
|
85.8 | (84.8 - 86.7) |
Ages 25+
|
86.9 | (86.7 - 87.1) | |
By Sex and Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Males, ages 18-24
|
83.8 | (82.4 - 85.1) |
Males, ages 25+
|
85.9 | (85.6 - 86.2) | |
Females, ages 18-24
|
87.8 | (86.7 - 88.7) | |
Females, ages 25+
|
87.8 | (87.5 - 88.1) | |
By Poverty Income Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
< 200% of the federal poverty level
|
80.1 | (79.6 - 80.6) |
>= 200% of the federal poverty level
|
90.3 | (90.1 - 90.6) | |
By Education Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Less than High School
|
78.8 | (77.9 - 79.7) |
High School
|
82.0 | (81.5 - 82.5) | |
Greater than High School
|
90.1 | (89.9 - 90.4) | |
Evidence-based Resources
The Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T. web portal contains tobacco control resources that support collaboration, identify evidence-based approaches, and list research-tested interventions. To identify high-risk populations and prioritize cancer control efforts, state and county-level tobacco data can be found on State Cancer Profiles.
Additional Information on Smokefree Home Rules
For the public
- Secondhand Smoke Exposure. National Cancer Institute.
- Secondhand Smoke and Cancer. National Cancer Institute.
- Smokefree Cars and Child Health. American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Smokefree Homes and Child Health. American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke. American Cancer Society.
- Americans Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.
- Smoking & Tobacco Use: Children in the Home. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Smoking & Tobacco Use: Going Smokefree Matters. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- 50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Scientific reports
- Increasing prevalence of smoke-free homes and decreasing rates of sudden infant death syndrome in the United States: an ecological association study. Behm I, Kabir Z, Connolly GN, Alpert HR. Tob Control 2012;21(1):6–11.
- Association between smokefree laws and voluntary smokefree-home rules. Cheng KW, Glantz SA, Lightwood JM. Am J Prev Med 2011;41(6):566–72.
- Occupation and workplace policies predict smoking behaviors: analysis of national data from the current population survey. Ham DC, Przybeck T, Strickland JR, et al. J Occup Environ Med 2011;53(11):1337–45.
- Parental home smoking policies: the protective effect of having a young child in the household. Hawkins SS and Berkman L. Prev Med 2011;53(1–2):61–3.
- Vital Signs: Disparities in Nonsmokers’ Exposure to Secondhand Smoke—United States, 1999-2012. Homa DM, Neff LJ, King BA, et al. MMWR 2015:64(4):103-108.
- National and state estimates of secondhand smoke infiltration among U.S. multiunit housing residents. King BA, Babb SD, Tynan MA, Gerzoff RB. Nicotine Tob Res 2013 Jul;15(7):1316-21.
- National and state prevalence of smoke-free rules in homes with and without children and smokers: Two decades of progress. King BA, Patel R, Babb SD, et al. A. Prev Med. 2016 Jan;82:51-8.
- Home smoking bans among U.S. households with children and smokers. Opportunities for intervention. Mills AL, White MM, Pierce JP, Messer K. Am J Prev Med 2011;41(6):559–65.
- The role of worksite and home smoking bans in smoking cessation among U.S. employed adult female smokers. Rose A, Fagan P, Lawrence D, et al. Am J Health Promot 2011;26(1):26–36.
- Cancer Health Effects. National Toxicology Program, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Effects of hookah smoking on indoor air quality in homes. Weitzman M, Yusufali AH, Bali F, et al. Tobacco Control 2017;26:586-591.
- Battling tobacco use at home: an analysis of smoke-free home rules among U.S. veterans from 2001 to 2011. Zhang X, Martinez-Donate AP, Cook J, et al. Am J Public Health 2014 Sep;104 Suppl 4: S572-9.
Statistics
- Cancer Facts and Figures. American Cancer Society.
- Americans Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.
- National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.
- State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.