Rules about smoking in Cambodian American households

Exposure to secondhand smoke is linked to adverse health outcomes among nonsmokers. We investigated whether Cambodian American households in Long Beach, California have rules that regulate smoking inside their homes. Cambodian American men have a high prevalence of smoking. A stratified random sample of respondents (n = 1014; females = 60.3%; mean age = 49.7 years) was obtained from census tracts with high concentrations of Cambodian Americans. Interview data were collected on demographic characteristics and household smoking rules. A total of 24.6% of respondents stated they had such rules. Significant demographic predictors for having smoking rules inside the home were smoking status, age, marital status, place of birth, employment status, and health status. Household rules about smoking inside the home were associated with: age 18 to 44 years (Relative Risk [RR] = 5.9, 95% CI = 2.6 – 13.2); age 45 to 64 years (RR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.2 – 3.7); non-married status (RR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.6 – 3.3); birthplace in the U.S. (RR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.6 – 4.6); being employed (RR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.2 – 4.0); and fair or poor health (RR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.8 – 2.7). The RR for former smokers versus never smokers was 0.3 (95% CI = 0.1 – 0.8). We concluded that persons with rules about smoking inside their homes tended to be never smokers, younger than 64 years, non-married, U.S.-born, employed, and have fair or poor health.