Z77.22 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (acute) (chronic)
Is Z77.22 billable?
Yes — Z77.22 is billable for FY2027. Z77.22 is a valid, billable ICD-10-CM code at the highest level of specificity in its branch. Z77.22 may be submitted for encounters from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
Z77.22 at a glance
| Code | Z77.22 |
|---|---|
| Description | Contact with and (suspected) exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (acute) (chronic) |
| Billable | Yes |
| Code set | ICD-10-CM FY2027 |
| Valid for encounters | October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 |
What Medicare edits apply to Z77.22?
The Medicare Code Editor screens inpatient claims before they are grouped. These edits name Z77.22 directly.
CMS will reject this code as the principal diagnosis on an inpatient claim. It describes something other than the condition chiefly responsible for the admission.
Which MS-DRGs does Z77.22 group to?
Z77.22 sits in MDC 23 and helps define the logic of 1 MS-DRG (version 44, FY2027). Which one a stay actually groups to also depends on procedures and secondary diagnoses.
- 951Other Factors Influencing Health Statusmedical
How is Z77.22 listed in the Alphabetic Index?
These are the routes through the Alphabetic Index that lead to Z77.22. They show the wording a clinician may have documented, which often differs from the Tabular description.
- Second hand tobacco smoke exposure (acute) (chronic)
- Exposure › environmental tobacco smoke (to)
- Exposure › second hand tobacco smoke (to)
- Passive › smoking
- Smoking › passive
How is Z77.22 listed in the External Cause Index?
These are the routes through the External Cause of Injuries Index that lead to Z77.22 — how the injury happened, rather than what the injury was.
- Exposure › smoke › tobacco, second hand (to)
Excludes1 — never code together
The conditions below can never be reported together with Z77.22 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
Excludes2 — not included here
The conditions below are not part of Z77.22, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, Z77.22 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z57.31)
Inclusion terms
Alternative wording in documentation that is classified to Z77.22.
- Exposure to second hand tobacco smoke (acute) (chronic)
- Passive smoking (acute) (chronic)
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Z77
The conditions below are not part of Z77.22, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, Z77.22 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- contact with and (suspected) exposure to communicable diseases (Z20.-)
- exposure to (parental) (environmental) tobacco smoke in the perinatal period (P96.81)
- newborn affected by noxious substances transmitted via placenta or breast milk (P04.-)
- occupational exposure to risk factors (Z57.-)
- retained foreign body (Z18.-)
- retained foreign body fully removed (Z87.821)
- toxic effects of substances chiefly nonmedicinal as to source (T51-T65)
Code also — inherited from Z77-Z99
Two codes may be needed to describe the condition fully. Whether Z77.22 is sequenced first depends on the reason for the encounter.
- any follow-up examination (Z08-Z09)
How long has Z77.22 existed?
Z77.22 has been in ICD-10-CM since at least FY2016, the earliest fiscal year on record here.
Derived from the official order files for FY2016–FY2026. FY2017 and FY2020 publish no order file, so those years are not covered.