Smokefree Home Rules

Data Up to Date as of:

On This Page:

In 2018 to 2019, 90.2% of adults aged 18 years and older reported a smokefree home rule.

Summary graph for Smokefree Home Rules, Click to see detailed view of graph

See Graph Details

Background

Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a mixture of the sidestream smoke released by a smoldering cigarette, pipe, hookah or waterpipe, or cigar, and the mainstream smoke exhaled by a person who smokes. 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. Among adults, exposure to SHS has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system, and long-term exposure to SHS causes coronary heart disease, stroke, 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. 

Many individuals and families, including both people who smoke and people who don’t, have voluntarily adopted 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.

About 80 million (1 in 4) people in the US live in multiunit housing, such as apartments, including about 7 million living in government-subsidized housing. Secondhand smoke can travel between units and into common areas in multiunit housing. To protect nonsmokers living within public housing, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development adopted a rule making all public housing smokefree. This rule was implemented in July 2018.

There is no risk-free level of exposure to SHS, and only 100% smokefree indoor air fully protects people who don’t smoke from exposure to SHS.

Measure

The percentage of respondents reporting a smokefree home rule (i.e., that smoking was not allowed anywhere in their home).

Healthy People 2030 Target

  • Increase the proportion of smokefree homes to 92.9 percent.

Healthy People 2030 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

Trends and Most Recent EstimatesHelp with navigating the graphs and data tables

By Sex

Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by sex, 1992-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2018 to 2019)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by sex, 1992-2019 Both SexesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Both Sexes 90.2 90.0 - 90.5
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 89.5 89.2 - 89.8
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 90.9 90.6 - 91.2

By Race/Ethnicity

Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by race/ethnicity, 1992-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2018 to 2019)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by race/ethnicity, 1992-2019 All Races/EthnicitiesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 90.2 90.0 - 90.5
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 89.9 89.6 - 90.2
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 86.0 85.1 - 86.8
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 93.7 93.2 - 94.1

By Age

Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by age, 1992-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2018 to 2019)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by age, 1992-2019 Ages 18-24Click to see the detailed trend graph for Ages 18-24 90.5 89.6 - 91.3
Ages 25+Click to see the detailed trend graph for Ages 25+ 90.2 90.0 - 90.4

By Sex and Age

Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by sex and age, 1992-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2018 to 2019)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by sex and age, 1992-2019 Males, ages 18-24Click to see the detailed trend graph for Males, ages 18-24 90.0 88.8 - 91.1
Males, ages 25+Click to see the detailed trend graph for Males, ages 25+ 89.4 89.1 - 89.7
Females, ages 18-24Click to see the detailed trend graph for Females, ages 18-24 90.9 89.7 - 92.0
Females, ages 25+Click to see the detailed trend graph for Females, ages 25+ 90.9 90.7 - 91.2

By Poverty Income Level

Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by poverty income level, 1998-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2018 to 2019)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by poverty income level, 1998-2019 < 200% of the federal poverty levelClick to see the detailed trend graph for < 200% of the federal poverty level 85.0 84.5 - 85.6
>= 200% of the federal poverty levelClick to see the detailed trend graph for >= 200% of the federal poverty level 92.5 92.3 - 92.8

By Education Level

Percentage of adults aged 25 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by highest level of education obtained, 1992-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2018 to 2019)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 25 years and older reporting a smokefree home rule by highest level of education obtained, 1992-2019 Less than High SchoolClick to see the detailed trend graph for Less than High School 83.5 82.4 - 84.5
High SchoolClick to see the detailed trend graph for High School 85.7 85.2 - 86.3
Greater than High SchoolClick to see the detailed trend graph for Greater than High School 92.7 92.5 - 93.0

Additional Information on Smokefree Home Rules

Year Range

1992-2019

Recent Summary Trend Year Range

2014-2019

Summary Tables

Secondhand Smoke

Recent Summary Trend

Rising

Desired Direction

Rising