nonsmoker

noun

non·​smok·​er ˌnän-ˈsmō-kər 

plural nonsmokers

: a person who does not smoke tobacco : a person who is not a smoker

Radon poisoning is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

—Jonathan Scholles

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

On average, smokers die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers. —Omer Awan, Forbes, 3 May 2023

Despite the 420 in the event name, which usually refers to April 20 — a date that both marijuana smokers and nonsmokers recognize as one of the biggest days of the year for cannabis culture — the event organized by College Entertainment Productions at 2000 Brooklyn St. is scheduled for April 29. —Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 21 Apr. 2023

Since 1964, more than 2.5 million nonsmokers who didn’t smoke have died from health problems caused by exposure to secondhand smoke, according to the CDC. —Jen Christensen, CNN, 17 Apr. 2023

Maigue Bendorf said that as a previously healthy nonsmoker, her sister had to strongly push for further testing. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Jan. 2023

For example, smoking changes the environment in a smoker’s lung, so a mutated cell inside that lung would behave differently than the same cell in a healthy nonsmoker’s lung. —Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 26 Apr. 2022

An aerosol monitor was placed where a nonsmoker might sit, recording PM2.5 levels before, during and after eight sessions. —Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2022

On average, a smoker lives eight to 12 fewer years than a nonsmoker. —Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 26 Jan. 2022

Kurvers, a nonsmoker, was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a type of lung cancer, early in 2019. —Jana Hollingsworth And Chris Miller, Star Tribune, 21 June 2021

See More

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

nonsmoker

noun

non·​smok·​er -ˈsmō-kər 

: a person who does not smoke tobacco