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In 2014 to 2015, 86.8% of adults aged 18 years and older reported a smoke-free home environment.
Introduction
Conclusive scientific evidence documents that secondhand smoke (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.
Today, comprehensive smoke-free laws, covering public places and workplaces, including restaurants and bars are increasingly the norm. Additionally, smoke-free policies now extend to private spaces, including cars and multi-unit housing.
Many individuals and families, including both smokers and non-smokers, have adopted voluntary smoke-free 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 smoke-free home rules is a significant predictor of smoking cessation success.
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. To protect non-smokers living within public housing, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has adopted a rule making all public housing smoke-free. This rule was implemented in July 2018.
Measure
The percentage of respondents reporting a smoke-free home.
Healthy People 2020 Target
- Increase the proportion of smoke-free 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 smoke-free 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
State-level data are available on the risk of smoking and percent of people not allowed to smoke in the home. These data are available on State Cancer Profiles . These data can be used to prioritize cancer control efforts and develop action plans.
Additional Information on Smoke-free Home Rules
For the public
- Second-Hand Smoke Exposure. National Cancer Institute.
- Secondhand Smoke and Cancer. National Cancer Institute.
- Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke. American Cancer Society.
- Americans Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.
- Ending the Tobacco Problem: Resources for Local Action. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
- 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.
- Smoking restrictions in bars and bartender smoking in the United States, 1992–2007. Bitler MP, Carpenter C, Zavodny M. Tob Control 2011;20(3):196–200.
- State and local comprehensive smoke-free laws for worksites, restaurants, and bars—United States, 2015. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR 2016;65(24)623-626.
- 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.
- About the Report on Carcinogens. 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.