Secondhand smoke (SHS) is the broad term for smoke released from a burning cigarette or other combustible tobacco and cannabis product, or aerosol released from a vaping device. SHS may also be exhaled by someone who is using these products. Commercial tobacco smoke contains hundreds of toxic chemicals and about 70 that cause cancer.3 The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that there is no safe level of exposure to SHS, and even brief exposure can cause serious health problems.4 SHS from vaping devices can also contain harmful substances.4 California state law prohibits vaping and cannabis smoking wherever tobacco smoking is prohibited.5

Thirdhand smoke (THS) is the chemical residue left behind on walls, carpet, furniture, clothing, and other surfaces after someone smokes or vapes.6 It is difficult to remove and can emit harmful chemicals over time as “stale tobacco smoke.”6 The mixture of pollutants in THS is toxic to humans, especially children, who are more likely to come into contact with contaminated surfaces or put contaminated toys and other household items in their mouths.6 The chemicals in THS can adhere to objects and be released back into the air or accumulate in household dust.6 People and pets become exposed by touching contaminated surfaces (absorption through the skin), ingesting contaminated objects or dust, or breathing air with re-suspended THS components.7 THS can linger indoors for months or years after someone who smokes or vapes moves out of a house or apartment, putting new tenants at risk.8,9​

​Policy​

• Regulate secondhand smoke and aerosols as toxic air contaminants.
• Close loopholes in the California Labor Code that allow smoking in tobacco shops, smokers’ lounges, hookah lounges, patient smoking areas of health care facilities, cabs of trucks or tractors, theatrical stages, and other places exempted from clean air restrictions.
• Strengthen SHS laws to cover all indoor and outdoor workplaces, and outdoor public spaces, such as sidewalks and local parks.
• Avoid local ordinances that could undermine secondhand smoke laws and re-normalize tobacco product use in restaurants, bars, and other public indoor spaces by allowing cannabis and hookah lounges to serve food.
• Require disclosure of prior tobacco use in home sales, rental housing lease agreements, used car sales, and used car lease agreements, to protect new owners and tenants from THS.
• Ensure equitable enforcement of SHS and THS laws by employing social norm change strategies to achieve compliance and avoiding harsh or punitive consequences for violations, such as excessive fines and eviction from rental housing.
  
  

Education

• Educate the public on the dangers of SHS and THS.
• Educate the public about existing SHS laws, such as prohibitions on smoking and vaping within 25 feet of a playground or tot lot sandbox area, and the fact that cannabis smoking and vaping are prohibited wherever tobacco smoking and vaping are prohibited.
• Educate landlords and tenant organizations on the benefits of smokefree housing policies and the importance of equitable enforcement of these policies.
• Educate the public, especially landlords and tenants, about how secondhand smoke and aerosol travel through multi-unit housing, and how THS from past tenants can harm new tenants.​
  

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​Toolkit for organizing a smokefree multi-unit housing campaign.

Source: California Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing and Engagement​​​