Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Nov-Dec;13(6):517-23.
doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2013.06.003.

Strict smoke-free home policies among smoking parents in pediatric settings

Deborah J Ossip  1 , Yuchiao Chang, Emara Nabi-Burza, Jeremy Drehmer, Stacia Finch, Bethany Hipple, Nancy A Rigotti, Jonathan D Klein, Jonathan P Winickoff
Affiliations

Strict smoke-free home policies among smoking parents in pediatric settings

Deborah J Ossip et al. Acad Pediatr. 2013 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To examine strict smoke-free home policies among smoking parents assessed in pediatric offices.

Methods: We analyzed baseline parental survey data from 10 control practices in a national trial of pediatric office-based tobacco control interventions (Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure, CEASE). We used logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations to examine factors associated with strict smoke-free home policies.

Results: Subjects were 952 parents who were current smokers. Just over half (54.3%) reported strict smoke-free home policies. Few reported being asked (19.9%) or advised (17.1%) regarding policies by pediatricians. Factors associated with higher odds of policies were child 5 years or younger (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.53, 3.86), nonblack race/ethnicity (aORs 2.17-2.60, 95% CIs 1.25-5.00), non-Medicaid (HMO/private (aOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.31, 2.58); self-pay/other aOR 1.76, 95% CI 1.12, 2.78); well-child versus sick child visit (aOR 1.61, 95% CI 1.11, 2.34), fewer than 10 cigarettes per day (aOR 1.80, 95% CI 1.31, 2.47), no other home smokers (aOR 1.68, 95% CI 1.26, 2.25), only father smoking (aOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.06, 2.83), and strict smoke-free car policy (aOR 3.51, 95% CI 2.19, 5.64).

Conclusions: Nearly half of smoking parents did not have strict smoke-free home policies. Parents were less likely to report policies if they were heavier smokers, black, living with other smokers, or attending a sick child visit; if they did not have a young child or smoke-free car policy; if they had a child on Medicaid; and if anyone other than only the father smoked. Few pediatricians addressed or recommended strict smoke-free home policies in an office visit. The pediatric office encounter represents a currently missed opportunity to intervene regarding smoke-free homes, particularly for high-risk groups.

Keywords: environmental tobacco smoke; parental smoking; secondhand smoke; smoking.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. American Academy of Pediatrics. Policy statement. Tobacco use: a pediatric disease. Committee on Environmental Health; Committee on Substance Abuse; Committee on Adolescence; Committee on Native American Child. Pediatrics. 2009;124:1474–1487. - PubMed
    1. Lando HA, Hipple BJ, Muramoto M, et al. Tobacco is a global paediatric concern. Bull World Health Organ. 2010;88:2–3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. US Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, Ga: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. 2006
    1. Hill SC, Liang L. Smoking in the home and children’s health. Tob Control. 2008;17:32–37. - PubMed
    1. Kabir Z, Connolly GN, Alpert HR. Secondhand smoke exposure and neurobehavioral disorders among children in the United States. Pediatrics. 2011;128:263–270. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances