Findings based on data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos indicates that growing up in a home with a smoker almost doubled the chance of a child smoking as an adult for Hispanics.
According to the study, 40% of participants reported being exposed to smoking in their homes as children and adolescents, and 20% of all participants were current cigarette smokers.
Childhood exposure to household smoking nearly doubled the risk of being a current smoker compared to those never exposed to household smoking, even after controlling for sociodemographic and cultural factors including age, gender, education level, language preference and length of stay in the US.
The association was strongest for Cubans and Puerto Ricans, who had the highest prevalence of exposure to household smoking as children, 59% and 47%, respectively. These groups also had the highest prevalence of adult smokers — 26% of Cubans and 32% of Puerto Ricans — compared with other Hispanic/Latino groups.
