Introduction
Effective February 2017, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published
a rule requiring each public housing agency to implement a smoke-free policy within
18 months. This study assessed the prevalence and determinants of favorability toward
smoke-free public housing among U.S. adults.
Methods
Data from 2016 Summer Styles, a nationally representative web-based survey conducted
among adults (N=4,203) were analyzed in 2017. Participants were asked: Do you favor or oppose prohibiting smoking in public housing, including all indoor
areas of living units, common areas, and office buildings, as well as in all outdoor
areas within 25 feet of buildings? Multivariate Poisson regression was used to calculate adjusted prevalence ratios
of favorability (strongly or somewhat).
Results
Overall, 73.7% of respondents favored smoke-free public housing. Favorability was
44.3% among current cigarette smokers, 73.2% among former smokers, and 80.4% among
never smokers. The adjusted likelihood of favorability was greater among non-Hispanic,
non-black racial/ethnic minorities than whites, and among those in the West than the
Northeast (p<0.05). Favorability was lower among adults with a high school education or less compared
with those with a college degree, adults with annual household income <$15,000 than
those with income ≥$60,000, multiunit housing residents than non-multiunit housing
residents, current cigarette smokers than never smokers, and current non-cigarette
tobacco product users than never users (p<0.05).
Conclusions
Most U.S. adults favor prohibiting smoking in public housing. These data can inform
the implementation and sustainment of smoke-free policies to reduce the public health
burden of tobacco smoking in public housing.
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References
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 16, 2017
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of American Journal of Preventive Medicine
