While great strides have been made to reduce children’s exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke, those efforts may be undermined by increasing use of cannabis among parents with children living at home.

A study in the June 2018 issue of Pediatrics, “Trends in Cannabis and Cigarette Use Among Parents with Children at Home: 2002 to 2015” (published online May 14) investigated trends in the prevalence of cannabis use among parents ages 18 and older who smoke cigarettes, as well as non-smokers, from 2002 to 2015 in the United States with children in the home. The authors found that cannabis use increased among parents who smoke cigarettes, as well as among non-smoking parents.

Cannabis use is nearly four times more common among cigarette smokers, as was daily cannabis use, compared with non-smokers. The researchers concluded that efforts to decrease secondhand smoke exposure via cigarette smoking cessation may be complicated by increases in cannabis use. Educating parents about secondhand cannabis smoke exposure should be integrated into public health education programs on secondhand smoke exposure.