TY - JOUR
T1 - Long-Term Trends in Secondhand Smoke Exposure in High-Rise Housing Serving Low-Income Residents in New York City
T2 - Three-Year Evaluation of a Federal Smoking Ban in Public Housing, 2018-2021
AU - Anastasiou, Elle
AU - Gordon, Terry
AU - Wyka, Katarzyna
AU - Tovar, Albert
AU - Gill, Emily
AU - Rule, Ana M.
AU - Elbel, Brian
AU - Kaplan, J. D.Sue
AU - Shelley, Donna
AU - Thorpe, Lorna E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
PY - 2023/1/1
Y1 - 2023/1/1
N2 - INTRODUCTION: In July 2018, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development passed a rule requiring public housing authorities to implement smoke-free housing (SFH) policies. We measured secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure immediately before, and repeatedly up to 36 months post-SFH policy implementation in a purposeful sample of 21 New York City (NYC) high-rise buildings (>15 floors): 10 NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings subject to the policy and 11 privately managed buildings in which most residents received housing vouchers (herein "Section 8"). AIMS AND METHODS: We invited participants from nonsmoking households (NYCHA n = 157, Section-8 n = 118) to enroll in a longitudinal air monitoring study, measuring (1) nicotine concentration with passive, bisulfate-coated filters, and (2) particulate matter (PM2.5) with low-cost particle sensors. We also measured nicotine concentrations and counted cigarette butts in common areas (n = 91 stairwells and hallways). We repeated air monitoring sessions in households and common areas every 6 months, totaling six post-policy sessions. RESULTS: After 3 years, we observed larger declines in nicotine concentration in NYCHA hallways than in Section-8, [difference-in-difference (DID) = -1.92 µg/m3 (95% CI -2.98, -0.87), p = .001]. In stairwells, nicotine concentration declines were larger in NYCHA buildings, but the differences were not statistically significant [DID= -1.10 µg/m3 (95% CI -2.40, 0.18), p = .089]. In households, there was no differential change in nicotine concentration (p = .093) or in PM2.5 levels (p = .385). CONCLUSIONS: Nicotine concentration reductions in NYCHA common areas over 3 years may be attributable to the SFH policy, reflecting its gradual implementation over this time. IMPLICATIONS: Continued air monitoring over multiple years has demonstrated that SHS exposure may be declining more rapidly in NYCHA common areas as a result of SFH policy adherence. This may have positive implications for improved health outcomes among those living in public housing, but additional tracking of air quality and studies of health outcomes are needed. Ongoing efforts by NYCHA to integrate the SFH policy into wider healthier-homes initiatives may increase policy compliance.
AB - INTRODUCTION: In July 2018, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development passed a rule requiring public housing authorities to implement smoke-free housing (SFH) policies. We measured secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure immediately before, and repeatedly up to 36 months post-SFH policy implementation in a purposeful sample of 21 New York City (NYC) high-rise buildings (>15 floors): 10 NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings subject to the policy and 11 privately managed buildings in which most residents received housing vouchers (herein "Section 8"). AIMS AND METHODS: We invited participants from nonsmoking households (NYCHA n = 157, Section-8 n = 118) to enroll in a longitudinal air monitoring study, measuring (1) nicotine concentration with passive, bisulfate-coated filters, and (2) particulate matter (PM2.5) with low-cost particle sensors. We also measured nicotine concentrations and counted cigarette butts in common areas (n = 91 stairwells and hallways). We repeated air monitoring sessions in households and common areas every 6 months, totaling six post-policy sessions. RESULTS: After 3 years, we observed larger declines in nicotine concentration in NYCHA hallways than in Section-8, [difference-in-difference (DID) = -1.92 µg/m3 (95% CI -2.98, -0.87), p = .001]. In stairwells, nicotine concentration declines were larger in NYCHA buildings, but the differences were not statistically significant [DID= -1.10 µg/m3 (95% CI -2.40, 0.18), p = .089]. In households, there was no differential change in nicotine concentration (p = .093) or in PM2.5 levels (p = .385). CONCLUSIONS: Nicotine concentration reductions in NYCHA common areas over 3 years may be attributable to the SFH policy, reflecting its gradual implementation over this time. IMPLICATIONS: Continued air monitoring over multiple years has demonstrated that SHS exposure may be declining more rapidly in NYCHA common areas as a result of SFH policy adherence. This may have positive implications for improved health outcomes among those living in public housing, but additional tracking of air quality and studies of health outcomes are needed. Ongoing efforts by NYCHA to integrate the SFH policy into wider healthier-homes initiatives may increase policy compliance.
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U2 - 10.1093/ntr/ntac202
DO - 10.1093/ntr/ntac202
M3 - Article
C2 - 36041039
AN - SCOPUS:85143379766
SN - 1462-2203
VL - 25
SP - 164
EP - 169
JO - Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
JF - Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
IS - 1
ER -