Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Among Nonsmokers — United States, 1988–2014 | MMWR

Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Among Nonsmokers — United States, 1988–2014 | MMWR

Progress on secondhand smoke exposure stalls

For decades, there have been significant strides in reducing secondhand smoke exposure among people in the U.S. who don’t smoke — but now, that progress seems to have stalled. A new analysis of national health data finds that secondhand smoke exposure among non-smokers fell from 88 percent in 1988 to 25 percent in 2014. But the rate hasn’t changed from 2011 to 2014. And there are persistent disparities in who is exposed to secondhand smoke. Children ages 3 to 11, black individuals, and people who live in rental housing are all more likely to be exposed.