Background The implementation of comprehensive smoke-free laws has been associated with reductions in second-hand smoke exposure at home in several high income countries. There is little information on whether these benefits extend to low income and middle income countries with a growing tobacco-related disease burden such as India.

Methods State and individual-level analysis of cross-sectional data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey India, 2009/2010. Associations between working in a smoke-free indoor environment and living in a smoke-free home were examined using correlation at the state level, and multivariate logistic regression at the individual level.

Results The percentage of respondents employed indoors (outside the home) working in smoke-free environments who lived in a smoke-free home was 64.0% compared with 41.7% of those who worked where smoking occurred. Indian states with higher proportions of smoke-free workplaces had higher proportions of smoke-free homes (r_s=0.54, p<0.005). In the individual-level analysis, working in a smoke-free workplace was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of living in a smoke-free home (adjusted OR=2.07; 95% CI 1.64 to 2.52) after adjustment for potential confounders.

Conclusions Implementation of smoke-free legislation in India was associated with a higher proportion of adults reporting a smoke-free home. These findings further strengthen the case for accelerated implementation of Article 8 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in low and middle income countries.