The effect of household smoking bans on household smoking

Am J Public Health. 2014 Apr;104(4):721-7. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301634. Epub 2014 Feb 13.

Abstract

Objectives: Because household smoking levels and adoption of domestic smoking rules may be endogenously related, we estimated a nonrecursive regression model to determine the simultaneous relationship between home smoking restrictions and household smoking.

Methods: We used data from a May-June 2012 survey of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, households with smokers (n = 456) to determine the simultaneous association between smoking levels in the home and the presence of home restrictions on smoking.

Results: We found that home smoking rules predicted smoking in the home but smoking in the home had no effect on home smoking restrictions.

Conclusions: Absent in-home randomized experiments, a quasi-experimental causal inference suggesting that home smoking rules result in lower home smoking levels may be plausible.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Child
  • Data Collection
  • Family Characteristics*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Parents
  • Philadelphia / epidemiology
  • Smoking / epidemiology*
  • Socioeconomic Factors