WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 3, 2015 – New data released today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health show that although secondhand smoke exposure in this country dropped by half between 1999 to 2000 and 2011 to 2012, this progress is not benefitting all populations equally. Half of all African-American nonsmokers and seven out of 10 black children are exposed to secondhand smoke. Moreover, declines in exposure over time have been slower among children, non-Hispanic blacks, people living in poverty and home renters.
A statement on the study from ACS CAN President Chris Hansen follows:
“Although we’ve made significant progress in reducing smoking rates and the toll of tobacco in America since the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking 50 years ago, some populations are subjected to the deadly impact of tobacco more than others. About half of all Americans live in a state where they can breathe smoke-free air in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars. Yet, secondhand smoke disproportionately affects African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans, who are more likely to work in jobs that have the least amount of protection from smoking – such as service, hospitality and manufacturing industries.
“Where individuals, particularly children, live can determine their likelihood of being protected from the dangers of secondhand smoke. The CDC’s findings show that low-income communities are less likely to adopt smoke-free laws, and that the primary source of secondhand smoke exposure for children comes from the home. The one-fourth of all Americans who live in multi-unit housing are particularly vulnerable to secondhand smoke exposure through smoke infiltration between units, common areas and doorways.
“The Department of Housing and Development (HUD) has strongly encouraged property managers to adopt its guidance to make all public housing units and common indoor areas smoke-free. ACS CAN encourages local and public housing authorities to enact comprehensive smoke-free policies that also include smoke-free outdoor common areas and places within 25 feet of windows and doors to further protect residents.
“We will not make further progress in keeping kids from using tobacco and helping tobacco users quit without concerted efforts to protect the populations being disparately affected by both higher tobacco use rates and secondhand exposure levels. Lawmakers in these communities must take action to reduce public exposure to secondhand smoke by enacting policies that help people quit and strong smoke-free policies that protect nonsmokers.”
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit https://www.fightcancer.org/.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Lauren Walens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5763 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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