UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

Despite the steady decline of smoking rates in California, over 200,000 children under age 12 live in homes where smoking is allowed, and another 742,000 live with an adult or adolescent smoker. Significant differences in children’s exposure to tobacco smoke and risk of exposure are found by race/ethnicity, geographic regions within the state and by poverty level. African-American children were found to have a significantly higher rate of exposure than other racial and ethnic groups, while children in the Northern/ Sierra and San Joaquin Valley regions were at the highest risk of exposure to secondhand smoke. Children living in lower-income households were also at higher risk. These findings can aid strategies to decrease children’s exposure to tobacco smoke in the home through targeted public health messages and outreach to those enrolled in public programs.