--- title: CDC Says Secondhand Smoke Exposure Fell by Half Over Last Decade description: But 1 in 4 nonsmokers is still being exposed canonical: https://time.com/3694669/secondhand-smoke-cdc/ author: Jack Linshi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-03T23:15:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:59.239Z article:section: Health og:title: Secondhand Smoke Exposure Gets Cut in Half og:description: But 1 in 4 nonsmokers is still being exposed. og:url: https://time.com/3694669/secondhand-smoke-cdc/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabadc2297fce4376/69877d80f887dccec4e89ebe/secondhand-smoking-cdc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4822 og:image:height: 2712 og:image:alt: Secondhand Smoking og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Secondhand Smoke Exposure Gets Cut in Half twitter:description: But 1 in 4 nonsmokers is still being exposed. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabadc2297fce4376/69877d80f887dccec4e89ebe/secondhand-smoking-cdc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Secondhand Smoke Exposure Gets Cut in Half > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=7a65ff65-72c1-4167-adb8-6a6a8a7e1e3a&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Up in Smoke: The Rise and Fall of Big Tobacco [Watch (HLS stream): Up in Smoke: The Rise and Fall of Big Tobacco](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WPuXPUG8.m3u8) (1:37)  _Published 2014-07-16. "More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette" is just one of the phrases we don't hear anymore - here's a quick look at America's complicated relationship with the addictive habit._  by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Feb 3, 2015 11:15 PM UTC  Stubbed out cigarette butt Stubbed out cigarette butt Johanna Parkin—Getty Images  by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Feb 3, 2015 11:15 PM UTC Secondhand smoke exposure in the U.S. fell by half between 1999 and 2012, according to a new study, but 1 in 4 nonsmokers, or 58 million Americans, is still being exposed. Secondhand smoking is more heavily affecting children, with 2 in 5 children exposed, including 7 in 10 black children, the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s monthly Vital Signs report](http://www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/2015/dpk-vs-secondhand-smoke.html) said Tuesday. More than 1 in 3 nonsmokers living in rental housing are being exposed to secondhand smoke. While the CDC said in November that U.S. smoking rates are at a historic low — about 18% for 2013 — the agency also warned that any amount of secondhand smoke is unsafe. More than 400 infants and 41,000 adult nonsmokers are killed by secondhand smoking each year, according to [CDC data](http://time.com/3608018/u-s-smoking-rate-low/). ## Transcript [00:00] This night work's kinda rough, isn't it? That's right. But [00:03] a Camel's always a pleasure. [ MUSIC ] Yes, [00:18] in a cigarette, it's the tobacco that counts. And Lucky [00:21] Strike means prime tobacco. Like a lot of his [00:24] teammates, and so many big league players, Jim gets [00:27] more pleasure from Camels than from any other [00:30] cigarette. [ MUSIC ] [00:37] You'll be interested to know how the doctor's of [00:39] America answered that question. Tens of thousands of [00:43] doctors. Doctors in all parts of the country. In every [00:47] state of the union. According to the survey, more [00:50] doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette. 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