Secondhand smoke policy and the risk of depression

Banning smoking in work and public settings leads to immediate reductions in disease burden. However, no previous studies have looked specifically at the impact smoking bans may have on depression.

The 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) uses a cross-sectional design representative of the non-institutionalized civilian US population. Never smoker survey participants > or =18 years of age were selected from the BRFSS (n = 41,904) with their self-report of depressive symptoms in the last 2 weeks, as assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire. Models with adjustment for survey design, sociodemographics, alcohol consumption, and work and home smoking policies were considered.

Following covariate adjustment, the risk of major depression was significantly higher for those living where smoking was allowed anywhere in the home versus those living in homes with complete smoking bans and in those who indicated that smoking was permitted in their work areas versus those reporting complete workplace smoking bans.

Findings from the present analysis support policies that ban smoking in all workplace settings. Interventions designed to eliminate smoking in the home are also needed.