PHY2.A Secondhand smoke: Percentage of children ages 4–17 with specified blood cotinine levels by age and race and Hispanic origin, selected years 1988–1994 through 2017–2018

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Characteristic 1988–1994 1999–2000 2001–2002 2003–2004 2005–2006 2007–2008 2009–2010 2011–2012 2013–2014 2015–2016 2017–2018
Ages 4–17, any detectable cotinine at or above 0.05 ng/mL
Totala 84.4 64.2 52.6 61.1 48.9 50.0 39.6 37.3 35.5 35.6 35.3
White, non-Hispanic 83.7 62.7 48.8 63.3 48.9 53.8 39.1 36.9 34.3 35.1 37.0
Black, non-Hispanic 94.7 83.6 80.6 78.2 69.6 62.0 63.7 60.6 61.2 61.0 59.1
Mexican American 76.5 48.2 44.4 38.0 33.2 28.0 25.6 25.3 20.8 25.4 20.3
Ages 4–17, blood cotinine above 1.0 ng/mL
Totala 22.5 16.9 16.1 17.1 11.6 15.3 9.0 8.1 9.3 7.5 8.3
White, non-Hispanic 23.1 20.0 18.0 19.5 11.5 19.3 8.9 8.7 9.2 6.3 9.8
Black, non-Hispanic 33.7 22.3 22.6 21.5 21.2 15.4 20.7 16.5 19.8 20.6 14.9
Mexican American 8.3 4.9 ‡ ‡ 4.1 ‡ 3.5 1.6 ‡ ‡ ‡
Ages 4–11, any detectable cotinine at or above 0.05 ng/mL
Totala 84.5 64.4 55.1 63.7 51.4 52.6 41.7 40.5 37.4 37.2 36.3
White, non-Hispanic 83.3 ‡ 53.7 67.7 52.3 57.4 42.0 37.4 38.3 37.4 38.7
Black, non-Hispanic 94.7 86.2 81.3 81.5 69.7 65.1 67.6 68.7 64.9 65.1 56.7
Mexican American 76.7 48.6 45.3 37.6 32.0 29.1 27.6 29.6 21.4 26.0 21.8
Ages 4–11, blood cotinine above 1.0 ng/mL
Totala 24.3 17.7 18.1 18.7 12.3 16.7 9.4 9.7 9.6 6.5 9.3
White, non-Hispanic 25.6 21.0 20.8 22.3 11.8 21.7 9.1 10.1 ‡ 4.8 11.7
Black, non-Hispanic 34.2 23.5 24.1 22.7 25.0 18.9 25.8 20.6 24.6 25.7 16.1
Mexican American 8.9 4.7 ‡ 3.6 ‡ ‡ 2.6 ‡ ‡ 1.0 ‡
Ages 12–17, any detectable cotinine at or above 0.05 ng/mL
Totala 84.3 63.9 49.6 57.9 46.0 47.0 37.2 33.8 33.3 33.8 34.2
White, non-Hispanic 84.3 62.5 43.1 58.2 45.1 49.6 36.1 36.4 30.0 33.0 35.2
Black, non-Hispanic 94.8 79.9 79.5 73.9 69.5 58.7 59.2 50.9 56.9 56.4 61.8
Mexican American 76.3 47.5 43.2 38.6 34.7 26.6 23.0 20.0 20.1 24.8 18.5
Ages 12–17, blood cotinine above 1.0 ng/mL
Totala 20.1 16.0 13.6 15.0 10.8 13.7 8.4 6.3 9.0 8.5 7.2
White, non-Hispanic 19.7 18.6 14.8 16.3 11.2 16.4 ‡ 7.2 9.3 7.6 ‡
Black, non-Hispanic 33.1 20.7 20.7 20.0 17.1 11.6 ‡ 11.7 14.1 14.7 13.7
Mexican American 7.4 5.1 ‡ ‡ 5.2 7.2 ‡ 1.1 ‡ ‡ ‡
‡ Reporting standards not met; the estimate is considered unreliable.
a Totals include data for racial/ethnic groups not shown separately.
NOTE: Cotinine levels are reported for nonsmoking children only (a non-smoker is defined as someone with a cotinine level less than or equal to 10 nanograms per mililiter [ng/mL]). "Any detectable cotinine" indicates blood cotinine levels at or above 0.05 ng/mL the detectable level of cotinine in the blood in 1988–1994. The average (geometric mean) blood cotinine level in children living in homes where someone smoked was 1.0 ng/mL in 1988–1994.1 For 1988–1994, the 1977 U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards for data on race and ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. For 1999–2018, the revised 1997 OMB standards were used. Persons could select one or more of five racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Included in the total but not shown separately are American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and "Two or more races." Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately but combined for reporting. Beginning in 2007, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey allows for reporting of both total Hispanics and Mexican Americans; however, estimates reported here are for Mexican Americans to be consistent with earlier years. Persons of Mexican American origin may be of any race.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
1 Mannino, D. M., Caraballo, R., Benowitz, N., & Repace, J. (2001). Predictors of cotinine levels in U.S. children: Data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. CHEST, 120, 718–724.

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