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Table 1 Percentage of U.S. adults who think breathing smoke from other people’s cigarettes or tobacco products causes harm, by selected characteristics—National Adult Tobacco Survey (NATS) 2009–2010

From: Perceptions of harm from secondhand smoke exposure among U.S. adults, 2009–2010

 

Unweighted frequency

Not at all harmful to one’s health

Somewhat harmful

Very harmful

Characteristics

n

% (95 % CI)

% (95 % CI)

% (95 % CI)

Overall

97,805

4.0 (3.7–4.3)

31.5 (30.9–32.1)

64.5 (63.9–65.2)

Sex

 Male

38,659

5.3 (4.85.7)

38.4 (37.439.4)

56.3 (55.3–57.4)

 Female

59,146

2.8 (2.5–3.1)

24.8 (24.1–25.5)

72.5 (71.773.2)

Age (years)

 18–24

4780

2.6 (2.0–3.3)

32.4 (30.4–34.5)

64.9 (62.9–67.0)

 25–44

25,915

3.0 (2.6–3.5)

30.9 (29.8–32.0)

66.0 (64.9–67.2)

 45–64

41,968

4.9 (4.4–5.3)

33.6 (32.7–34.5)

61.5 (60.5–62.4)

 ≥65

25,142

5.8 (5.2–6.4)

27.2 (26.1–28.3)

67.0 (65.8–68.2)

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic

81,517

4.2 (3.9–4.4)

35.7 (35.1–36.3)

60.1 (59.5–60.8)

 Black, non-Hispanic

7244

3.0 (2.3–3.6)

21.5 (19.7–23.3)

75.5 (73.7–77.4)

 Asian, non-Hispanic

1645

a

21.0 (15.6–26.5)

75.9 (70.3–81.5)

 AI/AN, non-Hispanic

1495

7.5 (4.9–10.0)

28.4 (23.5–33.3)

64.1 (58.9–69.3)

 NH/PI, non-Hispanic

399

a

28.0 (18.5–37.4)

66.5 (56.6–76.4)

 Non-Hispanic, multirace

1220

3.7 (2.1–5.4)

28.4 (23.5–33.2)

67.9 (62.8–73.0)

 Non-Hispanic, other

481

a

23.0 (15.4–30.5)

69.8 (61.2–78.3)

 Hispanic

3804

3.8 (2.7–4.8)

20.9 (18.5– 23.3)

75.3 (72.8–77.9)

Education

 0–12 years (no diploma)

6694

5.5 (4.5–6.4)

27.2 (24.9–29.5)

67.4 (65.0–69.8)

 GED

1696

6.1 (3.9–8.4)

33.8 (29.7–37.8)

60.1 (55.9–64.4)

 High school graduate

21,078

4.9 (4.3–5.5)

32.5 (31.3–33.7)

62.6 (61.3–63.9)

 Some college (no degree)

15,778

3.9 (3.4–4.5)

32.5 (31.1–33.9)

63.6 (62.2–65.0)

 Associate degree

14,241

3.4 (2.8–3.9)

31.1 (29.7–32.5)

65.5 (64.1–67.0)

 Undergraduate degree

23,148

2.3 (2.0–2.6)

33.2 (32.0–34.3)

64.6 (63.4–65.7)

 Graduate degree

15,170

2.2 (1.8–2.7)

30.8 (29.5–32.2)

66.9 (65.6–68.3)

Marital status

 Married/partnered

59,208

3.7 (3.4–4.0)

30.9 (30.1–31.6)

65.4 (64.6–66.2)

 Single/separated/divorced or widowed

38,597

4.4 (4.0–4.8)

32.3 (31.3–33.3)

63.3 (62.2–64.3)

Annual household income

 <$20,000

11,039

6.1 (5.27.0)

25.9 (24.1–27.6)

68.1 (66.2–70.0)

 $20,000–$49,999

31,555

4.0 (3.6–4.4)

31.4 (30.3–32.5)

64.6 (63.4–65.7)

 $50,000–$99,999

33,335

3.8 (3.4–4.3)

33.0 (32.0–34.1)

63.1 (62.1–64.2)

 ≥$100,000

18,357

3.0 (2.4–3.6)

34.2 (32.9–35.5)

62.8 (61.4–64.2)

 Unspecified

3519

3.1 (2.1–4.0)

27.8 (24.7–30.9)

69.1 (65.9–72.3)

U.S. region

 Northeast

17,685

3.3 (2.8–3.8)

30.7 (29.5–32.0)

66.0 (64.7–67.3)

 Midwest

20,255

4.4 (3.9–4.9)

35.1 (34.036.2)

60.5 (59.461.7)

 South

38,595

4.3 (3.9–4.8)

31.3 (30.3–32.3)

64.4 (63.3–65.4)

 West

21,270

3.7 (3.1–4.3)

28.8 (27.2–30.3)

67.5 (65.9–69.1)

Sexual orientation

 Heterosexual/straight

94,698

4.0 (3.7–4.2)

31.5 (30.9–32.2)

64.5 (63.8–65.1)

 LGBT

2180

3.6 (2.3–4.8)

36.9 (32.641.2)

59.5 (55.2–63.9)

 Unspecified

927

6.9 (3.4–10.3)

13.9 (9.6–18.3)

79.2 (73.884.6)

Children ≤17 years old living in household

 Yes

30,626

3.0 (2.6–3.5)

28.8 (27.7–29.8)

68.2 (67.169.3)

 No

67,179

4.7 (4.45.0)

33.4 (32.634.1)

62.0 (61.2–62.7)

Tobacco usec

 Combustible only

13,665

8.7 (7.8–9.6)

43.5 (41.8–45.1)

47.9 (46.2–49.5)

 Noncombustible only

527

5.2 (2.4–8.0)

32.6 (25.3–40.0)

62.1 (54.6–69.7)

 Combustible & Noncombustible

1080

9.2 (6.5–12.0)

50.1 (44.8–55.4)

40.7 (35.5–46.0)

 No tobacco use

49,778

2.0 (1.7–2.2)

21.5 (20.7–22.4)

76.5 (75.6–77.3)

Population coverage of smoke-free lawsb

 100 % state laws

46,285

4.0 (3.6–4.4)

31.1 (30.3–31.9)

64.9 (64.1–65.8)

 20–99 % state laws

15,902

4.3 (3.6–4.9)

33.6 (31.8–35.4)

62.1 (60.3–64.0)

 1–19 % state laws

16,333

3.7 (3.1–4.3)

29.1 (27.5–30.7)

67.2 (65.5–68.9)

 0 % state or local laws

17,785

4.2 (3.7–4.7)

33.8 (32.6–35.0)

62.0 (60.8–63.2)

  1. Note: Bold values indicate statistical significance (p < 0.05) when compared to all other categories for the respective characteristic
  2. Abbreviations: AI/AN American Indian/Alaska Native, NH/PI Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, GED Graduate Equivalency Degree, LGBT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender
  3. aEstimate excluded due to relative standard error >30 %
  4. bPopulation coverage of smoke-free laws was based on the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation U.S. Tobacco Control Laws Database© and represent the percent of the population covered by state and/or local comprehensive smoke-free laws as of July 1, 2010
  5. cCombustible only use is defined as those who currently smoke cigarettes, pipes, hookah, or cigars and do not use snus or chew/snuff/dip. Noncombustible only use is defined as those who use snus or chew/snuff/dip and do not currently smoke cigarettes, pipes, hookah or cigars. Combustible and noncombustible users are those who use both combustible and noncombustible tobacco products