A diagnosis of cancer within the family provides an opportunity for smokers to adopt a health-promoting behavior. This study examines the associations between having a first-degree family history of cancer and smoking status using population-based data with a large and diverse sample. Cross-sectional data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) on 47,331 adults were analyzed. Sample weights were applied to account for the survey design with results generalizable to non-institutionalized adults in California (27.4 million).

Findings: In 2009, 3.7 million (13.6%) adults were current-smokers, 6.3 million (23.0%) were former smokers and 17.4 million (63.4%) were never-smokers; 9,600,000 (35%) had a first-degree family history of cancer. Controlling for all covariates, first-degree family history of cancer was significantly associated with being a current smoker and to being a former smoker.

In California, although many adults with a first-degree family history of cancer quit smoking, a significant subset still smoke which places them at higher risk for poor health outcomes.