Content area
Full Text
Dear Editor,
While tobacco use is restricted in public spaces such as workplaces, restaurants, and public housing, non-smokers' exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) can happen in the home, especially in multiunit housing (MUH), where no current national laws prohibit use, and tenants more frequently experience comparatively worse outcomes associated with ETS exposure (Acuff, Fristoe, Hamblen, Smith, & Chen, 2016).
Thirdhand smoke (THS), a toxic form of ETS that settles on surfaces after smoking as dust or a residue, can exist in MUH for months, even after cleaning surfaces (Matt et al., 2016; Roberts, Wagler, & Carr, 2017). While often overshadowed by the more visible and publicized secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure symptoms, THS contains carcinogens which can be easily inhaled or absorbed dermally when touching contaminated surfaces. Smoke from smoking units can drift into non-smoking units, exposing non-smokers to both SHS and THS (Kraev, Adamkiewicz, Hammond, & Spengler, 2009). While most smokers in MUH are aware of the health effects of exposing others to SHS, most are not aware of THS and its health impacts on others, both within their own apartment and to others in their building (Díez-Izquierdo et al., 2018; Escoffery et al., 2013; Rendón et al., 2017).
This study examined current adult smokers' knowledge of what happens to smoke inside of MUH and how exposure to information about THS affects their intentions to relocate their smoking outdoors.
METHODS
Adults who self-identified as smokers and lived in MUH were recruited from Craigslist and screened for tobacco use while inside MUH. To qualify for the one-on-one online interviews, participants needed to smoke inside of MUH at least 16 out of the past 30 days and share either a ceiling, floor, or wall with another neighboring unit. Of the 158 potential participants who took the screening questionnaire, 78 qualified for the interview, and 30 participants completed the brief demographic questionnaire and online interview in Spring 2018.
The semi-structured interview questions addressed participant tobacco product use inside of mUh, factors influencing where they choose to smoke, and beliefs about tobacco smoke spread and smoke residue/sediment both inside of their apartment and other attached units. Participants were then given an information sheet on THS from the Mayo Clinic (Hays, 2018). The fact sheet was written for a...