PMID: 39994625 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39994625/

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: While there has been a decline in smoking prevalence and an increase in quit attempts among the general U.S. adult population, this information is unknown for the population who receive housing assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).

METHODS: We used National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)-HUD linked data to explore how the prevalence of cigarette smoking and past-year quit attempts has changed from 2005 to 2018 among HUD-assisted adults. Changes in the prevalence of outcome measures were examined over time for all HUD programs and by HUD program type. We created logistic regression models to assess the odds of being a current smoker or having a past-year quit attempt as a function of sociodemographic characteristics overall and by HUD program type.

RESULTS: The final study population consisted of 15,117 HUD-assisted adults aged 18 and older. Between 2005 and 2009 and 2015-2018, the smoking prevalence of HUD-assisted adults significantly declined from 33.9 to 25.4%. The proportion of HUD-assisted smokers with past-year quit attempts significantly increased from 45.6 to 55.5% between 2005 and 2009 and 2010-2014 and remained stable in 2015-2018. Rates of smoking in 2015-2018 were highest among Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program recipients at 26.6%; though there was a significant decrease in smoking prevalence and increase in past-year quit attempts for HCV program participants over time. For the public housing and the Multifamily Housing (MF) programs, declining trends in smoking rates and increasing trends in past-year quit attempts did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS: Among HUD-assisted adults, smoking prevalence has decreased, and past-year quit attempts have increased. While progress has been made, increased efforts to support smoking cessation are needed for HUD-assisted adults.