First-ever Survey of California’s Latino Renters Shows High Rates of Exposure to Drifting Tobacco Smoke Despite Home Smoking Bans

“Despite 95 percent of Latino families banning smoking inside their apartments, the first-ever statewide survey of Latino renters showed high rates of exposure to drifting tobacco smoke, according to the “Latino Renters Survey: Attitudes about Secondhand Smoke in Apartments,” released by the Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Education Partnership and the American Lung Association of California’s Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing. The survey also showed overwhelming support for smoke-free apartment buildings and separate smoking sections.

“The extensive and widespread exposure to drifting tobacco smoke documented in this survey is a call to action,” said Dr. Lourdes Báezconde-Garbanati, PhD, MPH, Director of the Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Education Partnership and faculty member at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. “This is especially important since the California Air Resources Board recently designated secondhand smoke as a toxic air contaminant, and, even more recently, the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report stated unequivocally that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.” “

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