We examined several potentially confounding variables that could affect the associations between smoke-free policy and transitions in AUDs, including years of education, educational attainment (<high school graduate, high school graduate, ≥some college), race/ethnicity (Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and other), family income (0–19,999, 20,000–34,999, 35,000–69,999, 70,000+), marital status (married or living together vs. single/widowed/separated/divorced), smoking status (current smoker vs. former or never smoker), and public drinking status (public drinking: ≥once per month vs. <once per month). As the NESARC queried about outcomes that occurred in the 12 months prior to the interview, and some participants lived in a state with recently implemented smoke-free bar and restaurant policies, we also assessed whether time since the ban was implemented was a significant covariate.
