Skip directly to site content Skip directly to search


Español  Other Languages


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC twenty four seven. Saving Lives, Protecting People
 Search

		Submit


Smoking & Tobacco Use


Section Navigation
			
			CDC Home








Hispanic and Latino People Need More Protection from Secondhand Smoke Exposure										Related Pages
										The CDC is focused on protecting all people from health risks—including secondhand smoke (SHS), or the smoke produced when commercial tobacco* is burned—where they work, live, and play. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.11Smokefree air policies are important because they protect people who don’t smoke from secondhand smoke, motivate those who smoke to quit, and prevent people from starting to smoke. Right now, however, not everyone in the nation is equitably protected by these policies.
mother holding infant26% of Hispanic children experience secondhand smoke exposure.
During 2015-2018, 17.2% of Hispanic adults were exposed to secondhand smoke in the U.S.40
Children who live in multi-unit residences, like apartment complexes, are exposed to more secondhand smoke than those living in single-unit homes, even if no one in their family smokes indoors.41This is potentially because smoke can travel through air vents, doors, and windows.41Additionally, children who live in households with incomes below the poverty level are more likely to be exposed to SHS than children who live is households with incomes above the poverty level.42
In 2018-2019, 93% of Hispanic adults reported having a smokefree home environment.43 Yet 26% of Hispanic children aged 3-11 still experience secondhand smoke exposure.44No smoking in the building.
Actions that can be taken to protect people from secondhand smoke include:
**Adopt and expand smokefree home policies, while making support for people who want to quit smoking more available.**When landlords adopt smokefree building policies, it protects tenants from secondhand smoke exposure and increases their chances of quitting tobacco long-term.45
**Make all workplaces smokefree—with no exceptions.** Many workplaces are now covered by comprehensive smokefree laws—but gaps in smokefree protections often leave out the places where many Hispanic/Latino people work, such as restaurants, bars, casinos, and workplaces with fewer than five employees. These are sectors and jobs where disproportionate numbers of Hispanic/Latino people work, placing them at risk from the negative health effects of secondhand smoke.46,47
**Let local communities create stronger smokefree air policies.**In some states that do not have a statewide smokefree policy, communities have put in comprehensive smokefree laws.48 However, 3 of the 5 U.S. states with the highest proportion of Hispanic residents have state laws that prevent local communities from setting up comprehensive smokefree policies.49 Letting local governments adopt smokefree polices would let more communities protect residents from secondhand smoke.
**“Commercial tobacco” means harmful products that are made and sold by tobacco companies. It does not include “traditional tobacco” used by Indigenous groups for religious or ceremonial purposes*.Next Section: Hispanic and Latino People Encounter Barriers to Quitting Successfully >Top of Page
ReferencesKaplan RC, Bangdiwala SI, Barnhart JM, et al. Smoking among U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults: the Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos. Am J Prev Med. 2014;46(5):496‐506 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Cornelius ME, Loretan CG, Wang TW, Jamal A, Homa DM. Tobacco Product Use Among Adults — United States, 2020. *MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep.* 2022; 71:397–405
Pérez-Stable EJ, Ramirez A, Villarea R, Talavera GA, Trapido E, et al. Cigarette smoking behavior among US Latino men and women from different countries of origin. American Journal of Public Health. 2001; 91(9):1424-1430 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Data Archive. National Survey on Drug Use and Health: 2-Year RDAS (2018 to 2019) online analysis tool [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Gentzke AS, Wang TW, Cornelius M, et al. Tobacco Product Use and Associated Factors Among Middle and High School Students — National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2021. MMWR Surveill Summ 2022;71(No. SS-5):1–29. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss7105a1
U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex, Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin for the United States and States: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Release Date: June 2020 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Release Date: December 2019 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vital Signs: Leading Causes of Death, Prevalence of Diseases and Risk Factors, and Use of Health Services Among Hispanics in the United States—2009–2013. MMWR Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 2015;64(17):469–78 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Heron M. Deaths: Leading causes for 2010. [PDF - 5.1 MB] National Vital Statistics Reports, 2013; 62(6) [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Xu JQ, Murphy SL, Kochanek KD, Bastian BA. Deaths: Final data for 2013. [PDF - 7.3 MB] National Vital Statistics Reports, 2016;64(2) [accessed 2022 Mar 1
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: 50 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of Smoking and Health, 2014 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
2018 National Health Interview Survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Feagin, J.R., & Cobas, J.A. (2014). Latinos Facing Racism: Discrimination, Resistance, and Endurance (1st ed.). Routledge [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Carrigan WD, Clive W. The lynching of persons of Mexican origin or descent in the United States, 1848 to 1928. Journal of Social History. 2003: 411-438 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Langton L, Masucci M. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics 2017. Hate Crime Victimization, 2004-2015 [PDF - 588 KB] [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Ochoa EC. From Tortillas to Low-carb Wraps: Capitalism and Mexican Food in Los Angeles since the 1920s. Diálogo. 2015;18(1): 33-46 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Hernández-Valero MA, Bustamante-Montes LP, Hernández M, Halley-Castillo E, Wilkinson AV, Bondy ML, et al. Higher risk for obesity among Mexican-American and Mexican immigrant children and adolescents than among peers in Mexico. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 2012; 14(4): 517–522 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Armstrong, K, Ravenell KL, McMurphy S, Putt, M. Racial/ethnic differences in physician distrust in the United States. American Journal of Public Health. 2007; 97(7): 1283–1289 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Novak NL, Lira N, O’Connor KE, Harlow SD, Kardia SL, Stern AM. Disproportionate sterilization of Latinos Under California’s Eugenic Sterilization Pprogram, 1920–1945. American Journal of Public Health. 2018; 108(5): 611-613 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Perreira, Krista M., and Juan M. Pedroza. Policies of exclusion: implications for the health of immigrants and their children. [PDF - 349 KB] Annual review of public health 40 (2019): 147-166 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Pedraza FI, Nichols VC, LeBrón AMW. Cautious citizenship: the deterring effect of immigration issue salience on health care use and bureaucratic interactions among Latino US citizens. J. Health Polit. Policy Law. 2017, 42(5):925–60 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Philbin MM, Flake M, Hatzenbuehler ML, Hirsch JS. State-level Immigration and Immigrant-Focused Policies as Drivers of Latino Health Disparities in the United States. Social Science & Medicine. 2018; 1982(199): 29-38 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Carson NJ, Rodriguez D, Audrain-McGovern J. Investigation of mechanisms linking media exposure to smoking in high school students. Prev Med 2005;41(2): 511-20 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Charlesworth A, Glantz SA. Smoking in the movies increases adolescent smoking: A review. Pediatrics 2005;116(6): 1516-28 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
National Cancer Institute. The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use. Tobacco Control Monograph No. 19. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. NIH Pub. No. 07-6242, June 2008.
Robinson RG, Barry M, Bloch M, Glantz S, Jordan J, Murray KB, Popper E, et al. Report of the Tobacco Policy Research Group on Marketing and Promotions Targeted at African Americans, Latinos, and Women. Tobacco Control. 1992; 1 (Suppl 1): S24-S30 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Smiley SL, Kintz N, Rodriguez YL, Barahona R, Sussman S, Cruz TB, Chou CP, Pentz MA, et al. Disparities in Retail Marketing for Little Cigars and Cigarillos in Los Angeles, California. Addictive Behaviors Reports. 2019; 9:100149[accessed 2021 Dec 8].
Ganz O, Rose SW, Cantrell J. Swisher Sweets ‘Artist Project’: Using Musical Events to Promote Cigars. Tobacco Control. 2018; 27:e93-e95 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Robertson L, McGee R, Marsh L, Hoek J. A Systematic Review on the Impact of Point-of-Sale Tobacco Promotion on Smoking. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2015:17(1): 2-17[accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Slopen N, Kontos EZ, Ryff CD, Ayanian JZ, Albert MA, Williams DR. Psychosocial stress and cigarette smoking persistence, cessation, and relapse over 9-10 years: a prospective study of middle-aged adults in the United States. Cancer Causes Control. 2013;24(10):1849-1863 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Slopen N, Dutra LM, Williams DR, et al. Psychosocial stressors and cigarette smoking among African American adults in midlife. Nicotine Tob Res. 2012;14(10):1161-1169 [accessed 2022 Apr 28].
Purnell JQ, Peppone LJ, Alcaraz K, et al. Perceived discrimination, psychological distress, and current smoking status: results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Reactions to Race module, 2004-2008. Am J Public Health. 2012;102(5):844-851 [accessed 2022 Apr 28].
U.S. Census Bureau. Current Population Survey, 2009 to 2020. Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Coleman-Jensen A, Rabbitt MP, Gregory CA, Singh A. Household Food Security in the United States in 2019, ERR-275, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Economic Research Service. 2020 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Slavich GM. Life Stress and Health: A Review of Conceptual Issues and Recent Findings. Teaching of Psychology. 2016; 43(4): 346-355[accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Discrimination in America: Experiences and Views on Effects of Discrimination Across Major Population Groups in the United States. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Public Radio. 2017 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Discrimination in America: Experiences and Views of Latinos [PDF-1.0 MB]; a 2017 poll developed by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Public Radio (NPR). [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Juster RP, McEwen BS, Lupien SJ. Allostatic load biomarkers of chronic stress and impact on health and cognition. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2010;35(1): 2-16 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Guyll M, Matthews KA, Bromberger JT. Discrimination and unfair treatment: relationship to cardiovascular reactivity among African American and European American women. Health Psychology. 2001;20(5): 315 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
National Center for Health Statistics. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2015–2018 [PDF - 148 KB] [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Wilson KM, Klein JD, Blumkin AK, Gottlieb M, Winickoff JP. Tobacco-smoke exposure in children who live in multiunit housing. Pediatrics. 2011; 127 (1): 85-92 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Merianos AL, Jandarov RA, Choi K, Mahabee-Gittens EM. Tobacco smoke exposure disparities persist in U.S. children: NHANES 1999-2014. *Prev Med.* 2019;123:138-142 [accessed 2022 Apr 28].
Cancer Trends Progress Report. National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, MD, July 2021 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Brody DJ, Lu Z, Tsai J. Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Nonsmoking Youth: United States, 2013-2016. [PDF - 500 KB] NCHS Data Brief, 2019 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Pizacani BA, Maher JE, Rohde K, Drach L, and Stark MJ. Implementation of a smoke-free policy in subsidized multiunit housing: effects on smoking cessation and secondhand smoke exposure. Nicotine Tob Res 2012;14(9): 1027-1034 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Shopland DR, Anderson CM, Burns DM, Gerlach KK. Disparities in smoke-free workplace policies among food service workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2004;46(4): 347-356 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Holmes LM, Ling PM. Workplace secondhand smoke exposure: a lingering hazard for young adults in California. Tobacco Control.2017; 26(e1): e79–e84 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Hafez AY, Gonzalez M, Kulik MC, Vijayaraghavan M, Glantz S. Uneven access to smoke-free laws and policies and its effect on health equity in the United States: 2000–2019. American Journal of Public Health. 2019; 109(11): 1568-1575 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Americans Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation. Bridging the Gap: Status of Smokefree Air in the United States [PDF - 149 KB] [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Babb S, Malarcher A, Schauer G, Asman K, Jamal A. Quitting Smoking Among Adults—United States, 2000-2015. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2017;65(52):1457-64 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2020 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Carter-Pokras OD, Feldman RH, Kanamori M, et al. Barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation among Latino adults. J Natl Med Assoc. 2011;103(5):423– 431 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Babb S, Malarcher A, Asman K, Johns M, Caraballo R, VanFrank B, et al. Disparities in Cessation Behaviors Between Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Adult Cigarette Smokers in the United States, 2000–2015. Prev Chronic Dis 2020;17:190279 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Zhang L, Babb S, Johns M, Mann N, Thompson J, Shaikh A, et al. Impact of US antismoking TV ads on Spanish-language quitline calls. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.2018; 55(4): 480-487 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
DiGiulio A, Jump Z, Babb S, et al. State Medicaid Coverage for Tobacco Cessation Treatments and Barriers to Accessing Treatments — United States, 2008–2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:155–160 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Lebrun-Harris LA, Fiore MC, Tomoyasu N, and Ngo-Metzger Q. Cigarette Smoking, Desire to Quit, and Tobacco-Related Counseling Among Patients at Adult Health Centers. American Journal of Public Health 2015; 105 (1): 180-188 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Flocke SA, Hoffman R, Eberth JM, Park H, Birkby G, Trapl E, et al. The Prevalence of Tobacco Use at Federally Qualified Health Centers in the United States, 2013. Prev Chronic Dis 2017; 14:160510 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Castro Y. Determinants of Smoking and Cessation Among Latinos: Challenges and Implications for Research. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 2016;10(7): 390-404 [accessed 2022 Mar 1].
Borrelli B, McQuaid EL, Novak SP, Hammond SK, Becker B. Motivating Latino caregivers of children with asthma to quit smoking: a randomized trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2010;78(1):34‐43 [accessed 2022 Mar1].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Best Practices User Guide: Health Equity in Tobacco Prevention and Control. [5.04 MB] Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2015 [accessed 2022 Apr 28].F
							
					
							Last Reviewed:  January 26, 2023						Source: 	Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
					Facebook
        Twitter
        LinkedIn
        Syndicate homeHomeOffice on Smoking and Health (OSH)plus iconOSH Partners with StatesFunding Opportunity AnnouncementsInteragency Committee on Smoking and Healthplus iconMembership RosterNewsroomStay ConnectedOrganizationSmoking & Tobacco Use FeaturesQuit Smokingplus iconHow to Quitplus iconBenefits of QuittingBasic Informationplus iconHealth Effectsplus iconCancerHeart Disease and StrokeChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)Smoking During PregnancyEquality in Smoking & Disease: Nobody Wins!Electronic Cigarettesplus iconAbout Electronic Cigarettes (E-Cigarettes)Quick Facts on the Risks of E-cigarettes for Kids, Teens, and Young AdultsEmpower Vape-Free Youth CampaignMenthol Tobacco Productsplus iconState Menthol Fact SheetsMenthol Tobacco Products are a Public Health ProblemMenthol Smoking and Related Health DisparitiesAddressing Menthol Tobacco ProductsHeated Tobacco ProductsYouth Tobacco PreventionCommercial Tobacco and Health Equityplus iconBlack and African American Peopleplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsSecondhand SmokeQuitting TobaccoAmerican Indian and Alaska Native Peopleplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsSecondhand SmokeQuitting TobaccoAsian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Peopleplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsQuitting TobaccoHispanic and Latino Peopleplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsSecondhand SmokeQuitting TobaccoLGBTQ+ Peopleplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsQuitting TobaccoPeople Across Geographic Regionsplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsSecondhand SmokeQuitting TobaccoPeople with Behavioral Health Conditionsplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsCommercial Tobacco Product Use and Behavioral Health Conditions can Affect Each OtherQuitting TobaccoPeople with Low Socioeconomic Statusplus iconHealth BurdenUnfair and Unjust Practices and ConditionsSecondhand SmokeQuitting TobaccoSecondhand Smokeplus iconGeneral InformationTrends and DisparitiesHealth ProblemsSecondhand Smoke in the CommunitySecondhand Smoke in the HomeSmokefree PoliciesResourcesGoing Smokefree Mattersplus iconBars and RestaurantsCasinosIn Your HomeMultiunit HousingSurgeon General's Reports on Smoking and Tobacco Useplus icon2020 SGR—Smoking Cessation2016 SGR—E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young AdultsHistorical ReportsA Brief HistoryArchiveData and Statisticsplus iconFast Facts and Fact Sheetsplus icon**Smoking and Cigarettes**Diseases and DeathHealth Effects of Cigarette SmokingTobacco-Related MortalityCigarette Smoking in the U.S.Adult DataCessationCost and ExpendituresEconomics**Smokeless Tobacco**Health EffectsProducts and MarketingSmokeless Tobacco Product Use in the United States**Other Tobacco Products**CigarsHookahsLow Yield Cigarettes**Secondhand Smoke****Youth Tobacco Use**Youth DataSmoking in the MoviesTrends in Tobacco Use Among Youth**Tobacco Industry**Tobacco Brand PreferencesIndustry MarketingSurveysplus iconNational Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS)Alaska Native Adult Tobacco Survey Guidance ManualAmerican Indian Adult Tobacco SurveyScientific Evidence BriefsSTATE SystemMorbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR)Vital SignsPatient Careplus iconPatient Care Settings and Smoking Cessationplus iconCardiovascular Care SettingsRespiratory Care SettingsCancer Care SettingsMaternal and Infant Care SettingsClinical Interventions to Treat Tobacco Use and Dependence Among AdultsClinical Cessation ToolsPatient Cessation MaterialsQuitlines and Other Cessation Support ResourcesClinical Education and TrainingE-Cigarettes and Patient CareState and Community Workplus iconTobacco Control Programsplus iconCessation Materials for Tobacco Control ProgramsNetworking2Save: Co-op AgreementGuidelines and ResourcesProgram FundingEvidence Based Guides for StatesState Fact SheetsTobacco Ingredient and Nicotine ReportingTobacco Counter-Marketing CampaignGlobal Tobacco Controlplus iconAbout Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS)GTSSDataThe Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) AtlasHelp & Glossaryplus iconGlossaryData and DocumentationUsing the GTSSData HomepageUsing the GTSSData Explorer PageContact UsMultimedia & Toolsplus iconMedia Campaign Resource Center (MCRC)Publication Catalog To receive email updates about Smoking & Tobacco Use, enter your email address: Email Address			What's this				Submit
 Tips From Former
Smokers®
Division of Cancer
Prevention and Control
Lung Cancer
National Comprehensive
Cancer Control Program
Division of Reproductive
Health
 Facebook
Twitter
YouTube


About CDC
					Contact Us
					800-232-4636
 Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Youtube Pinterest Snapchat
 CONTACT CDC
				Contact Us
							Call 800-232-4636
							Email Us
			ABOUT CDC
				About CDC
							Jobs
							Funding
			POLICIES
				Accessibility
							External Links
							Privacy
							Policies
							No Fear Act
							FOIA
							OIG
							Nondiscrimination
							Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
			CONNECT WITH US
				Facebook
								Twitter
								Instagram
								LinkedIn
							Youtube
								Pinterest
								Snapchat
								Email
			LANGUAGES
				Español
							繁體中文
							Tiếng Việt
							한국어
							Tagalog
							Русский
							العربية
							Kreyòl Ayisyen
							Français
							Polski
							Português
							Italiano
							Deutsch
							日本語
							فارسی
							English


U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
			Accessibility
			External Links
			Privacy
			Policies
			No Fear Act
			FOIA
			Nondiscrimination
			OIG
			Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
			USA.gov


Exit Notification / Disclaimer Policy Close
 Links with this icon  indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
				Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
				You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
				CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. Website Disclaimers
 Cancel Continue