Professor Sean Semple, University of Stirling, 6^th December 2025

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has helped protect many millions of non-smokers around the world from the harmful effects of second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) since it was drafted over 20 years ago. Article 8 in particular is designed to ensure implementation of smoke-free workspaces and enclosed public spaces and in many countries with comprehensive smoke-free laws we have seen dramatic and measurable falls in population level exposure to SHS: my own country of Scotland has seen a 97% reduction in non-smoking adults’ salivary cotinine (a marker of SHS exposure) since we made all substantially enclosed public spaces smoke-free in 2006.

However, article 8 does not take tackle the indoor space where most SHS is inhaled – the home. It makes no mention of the home setting beyond a note that consideration should be given to workplaces that are also individuals’ homes. Article 8 guidelines go a little further in stating that “all people should be protected from exposure to SHS” but again mention of the home is lacking. There is some acknowledgement that population levels of smoke-free homes may be a good indicator of progress in shifting the social norms around exposure to SHS that come from implementing smoke-free laws more generally.

As many countries now consider the tobacco endgame, attention is now turning to a little known part of the FCTC – Article 2.1. This part of the treaty calls on countries to go beyond the current measures to protect their citizens' right to health and, as such, encourages countries to consider additional, world-leading measures in the fight against tobacco.

At the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2024 an Expert Group on Forward-looking Tobacco Control Measures (in relation to Article 2.1 of the WHO FCTC) was established. The Expert Group was tasked with identifying measures that expand or intensify approaches to tobacco control and has published a report describing 16 measures that was considered at COP11 17-22 November 2025 in Geneva and the results noted.

As lead of the Smoke-free Homes International Network (www.shine.ac.uk) I am delighted to see one of the forward-looking measures in the report noted by COP11 is “Expansion of smoke-free venues in private/semi-private environments and reduction of exposure to second- and third-hand tobacco smoke”.  The report concludes that: “Expanding smoke-free environments – especially in multi-unit housing homes and cars – would be likely to reduce exposure to second- and third-hand tobacco smoke both in the general population and in vulnerable groups, contributing to prevention and cessation of tobacco use and improved health equity.”

There is much to welcome in this report from the expert group and it is positive that COP11 acknowledged the importance of tackling children’s exposure to SHS in the home. SHINE argues that  countries should consider some or all of the following measures to increase the protection of children from the harms of tobacco smoke:

1. Setting measurable national targets to reduce children’s exposure to second-hand smoke at home.
2. Examining effective framing of the public health debate around smoking in the home: taking into consideration children’s rights, child welfare, human rights, and the right to breathe clean air at home.
3. National mass media and health education campaigns on the harms of second-hand tobacco smoke on children’s health and development.
4. Support for parents and carers who smoke to help them to make their home free from tobacco smoke through access to evidence-based interventions, educational and information materials and advise from health professionals.
5. Tracking public support for legislation protecting children from second-hand tobacco smoke within homes, at national level using a standard international question.

Protecting  children from SHS should be one of the primary aims of the tobacco endgame. The legal arguments are many and substantial. The right to breathe air free from tobacco-smoke has long been considered a basic human-right. The right to clean air is now enshrined by the UN Human Rights Council and applies equally to indoor and outdoor settings. Protecting children from exposure to SHS at home is a human rights issue that clearly aligns with that right to a clean and healthy environment. Similarly, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child state that: every child has the right to the best possible health, that governments must provide a clean environment so that children can stay healthy (article 24); that the best interests of the child must be a top priority in all actions that affect children (article 3); and that governments must do all they can to ensure that children are protected from all forms of neglect and mistreatment by those who look after them.

Professor Sean Semple
University of Stirling
6^th December 2025

This is a modified version of a blog article that first appeared on the www.shine.ac.uk website on 16^th November 2025. If you are interested in research and policy relating to smoke-free homes then please consider joining the SHINE network at www.shine.ac.uk/sign-up