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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Ralph S. Caraballo, PhD, Angela Trosclair, MPH, and Stephen Babb, MPH. Office on Smoking and Health, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy. N.E., Mailstop K-50, Atlanta, GA 30341, 7704885732, rfc8@cdc.gov

Dramatic progress has been achieved over the past 20 years in establishing smoke-free environments in homes, workplaces, and public places. As a result of this progress, the levels of cotinine--a biological marker for secondhand smoke exposure--measured in nonsmokers have fallen by 70 percent since the late 1980s, and the proportion of nonsmokers with detectable cotinine levels has been halved from 88 percent to 44 percent, meeting the Healthy People 2010 objective in this area. In addition, about 70 percent of U.S. workers are now protected by a smoke-free workplace policy.

However, significant population disparities in secondhand smoke exposure persist. Children are more heavily exposed to secondhand smoke than adults. African Americans are more heavily exposed than whites and Mexican Americans. Americans with lower incomes are more heavily exposed than those with higher incomes.

In addition, certain categories of workers, including blue collar, service, and hospitality workers, are substantially less likely to be protected by a smoke-free workplace policy and are substantially more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke on the job than white collar and professional workers.

This presentation will provide an overview of current disparities in secondhand smoke exposure and smoke-free workplace policy coverage, relying on the latest data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the Current Population Survey Tobacco Use Supplement (CPS TUS). The presentation will also discuss implications of these findings and steps that could be taken to address the identified disparities.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants in this session will be able to

• Describe population disparities in secondhand smoke exposure.
• Describe population disparities in smoke-free workplace policy coverage.
• Describe the implications of these findings.

Keywords: Environmental Exposures, Occupational Exposure

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation