Prevalence and correlates of residential smoking rules or policies, and support for multi-unit housing smoking ban: Findings from the 2024 International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Each year, more than 8 million deaths are caused by smoking, of which 1.3 million deaths are from exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS). SHS exposure is causally linked to lung cancer and increases the risk of several health conditions. Comprehensive smoking bans are a key measure to reducing SHS and mitigating associated health risks. As recommended in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, smoke-free laws have been implemented in a range of indoor and outdoor public settings worldwide. However, homes remain a major source of SHS exposure for many people and there is increasing interest in expanding smoke-free environments to include residential settings, especially for multi-unit housing (MUH). Globally, smoke-free housing policy has been implemented in subsidised housing contexts. In 2009, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) encouraged public housing authorities (PHAs) to adopt voluntary smoke-free housing policies locally and by 2011, over 225 public housing authorities have implemented the policies. In 2018, HUD then instituted a federal smoke-free housing policy requiring all PHAs to prohibit tobacco smoking inside units, indoors common areas and within 25 feet of the building. Some provinces and territories in Canada, such as Ontario and Nunavut, have also implemented smoke-free housing policies in subsidised housing. Other countries, such as Australia and UK, for example, have yet to introduce a blanket ban on smoking in housing contexts. Unsurprisingly, regulating smoking in homes, a private space often considered as beyond the realm of smoke-free laws, is contentious. Given the different policy approaches to smoke-free housing, we anticipate potential variations across countries and jurisdictions in residential smoking rules or policies and the level of support for a multi-unit housing smoking ban. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to examine cross-country variations and estimate the extent of self-reported residential smoking, voluntary home smoking/vaping/HTP use rules, official smoke-free policies in multi-unit housing, and level of support for a multi-unit housing smoking ban.
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204128538