The Relationship of Home Smoking Bans to the Physical and Mental Health of Smokers

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine whether the adoption of home smoking bans is associated with the physical and mental health of smokers. Two potential pathways that link home smoking bans to smoker's health are analyzed. The first argues that home smoking bans are positively related to physical health by encouraging smoking cessation while reducing daily cigarette consumption. The second suggests that home smoking bans have a negative relationship to smokers' mental health by increasing marginalization and social isolation. Data on 28,887 Canadian smokers were analyzed from the Canadian Community Health Survey, a nationally representative sample of Canadians adults. Logistic regression models analyzed the impact of home smoking bans on subjective assessments of smoker's physical and mental health. Separate analyses were conducted on daily and occasional smokers, and additional analyses tested interactions between the presence of a home smoking ban and key socioeconomic (gender and low household income) and structural (dwelling ownership, living alone, and dwelling type) covariates. Home smoking bans were not associated with smoker's physical health and were positively associated with smokers' mental health. These findings were consistent for daily smokers and occasional smokers. No significant interactions between smoking bans and socioeconomic or structural covariates were observed. Findings are considered with respect to the internal and external constraints that shape smoker's behavior, particularly the influence of social norms around environmental tobacco smoke exposure and good citizenship and the role of family relationships. The implications of study findings are considered with respect to public health policy.