Global survey of 107,000 people finds cannabis smoked at home more often than tobacco | Research

The takeaway

Among over 107,000 respondents from 17 countries, in-home cannabis smoking was more prevalent than in-home tobacco smoking, suggesting cannabis may be more socially acceptable to smoke indoors.

Public health researchers, policymakers, and readers interested in cannabis and tobacco use patterns and indoor air quality.

79% of cannabis users smoked at home vs. 68% of tobacco users

What the researchers found

Among cannabis-only users, 78.8% reported past-year in-home cannabis smoking, compared to 67.9% of tobacco-only users smoking tobacco at home. Among dual users, in-home cannabis smoking (82.8%) also exceeded in-home tobacco smoking (75.9%, p<0.001).

Why it matters

As tobacco home-smoking bans have reduced secondhand smoke exposure, cannabis appears to be exempt from similar social norms, creating a potential gap in household air quality protections.

The numbers in context

107,272 respondents; 53.6% reported in-home cannabis smoking; 50.6% in-home tobacco smoking. Among dual users: 82.8% smoked cannabis at home vs. 75.9% tobacco. Top responding countries: Germany (32%), USA (10%), New Zealand (9%).

How the study worked

Cross-sectional analysis of 107,272 adults (mean age 30, 34% women) from 17 countries who completed the Global Drug Survey 2019. Respondents were categorized as cannabis-only users, tobacco-only users, dual users, or non-users.

What this study cannot tell us

Global Drug Survey respondents are self-selected and skew toward drug-interested populations. Cross-sectional design. No measurement of actual smoke exposure or health outcomes. Some countries had low response rates.

How to read the evidence

Very large international sample, but self-selected respondents limit generalizability.

When this study was published

Published in 2022 using 2019 survey data.

The bigger picture

Public health campaigns have successfully denormalized indoor tobacco smoking, but similar messaging about cannabis smoking has not kept pace. As cannabis legalization expands, the gap between tobacco and cannabis home-smoking norms may widen.

Questions still open

Does in-home cannabis smoking produce comparable secondhand exposure to tobacco? Are children in these households affected? Would cannabis-specific clean air policies change behavior?

Common questions

Why might people smoke cannabis at home more often than tobacco?

The researchers suggest in-home cannabis smoking may be more socially acceptable than tobacco smoking, possibly because public anti-smoking campaigns have focused primarily on tobacco while cannabis norms are less established.

Did non-users report secondhand exposure equally for both?

Yes. Among non-users of both substances, about 20% reported in-home exposure to cannabis smoke and tobacco smoke, suggesting similar rates of secondhand exposure from others in the household.

Read the original research

In-home cannabis smoking more prevalent than in-home tobacco smoking among 2019 Global Drug Survey respondents.

Addictive behaviors, 125, 107130

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Bellettiere, John; Liles, Sandy; Posis, Alexander Ivan B; Anuskiewicz, Blake; Tripathi, Osika; Nguyen, Benjamin; Chavez, Paul; Zhu, Shu-Hong; Park, Ji-Yeun; Winstock, Adam; Ferris, Jason. (2022). In-home cannabis smoking more prevalent than in-home tobacco smoking among 2019 Global Drug Survey respondents.. Addictive behaviors, 125, 107130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107130