Abstract
BackgroundIn 2009, the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (Taiwan) was amended to more effectively restrict smoking in indoor public places and workplaces in Taiwan. However, the lack of prohibitions for smoking in private homes may place family members at increased risk for exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). The aim of our study was to determine the factors associated with parental smoking in the presence of children at home.MethodsIn 2010, we performed a cross-sectional study of factors associated with parental smoking in the presence of children at home in Taiwan using self-administered questionnaires. Quota sampling was used to select five primary schools from four different regions of Taiwan. Parents were surveyed to identify parental smokers and 307 parental smokers were selected for participation in our study. Questionnaire data regarding parental smoking in the presence of children at home and related interactions among family members were analyzed. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to determine the best-fit model for examining the relationships among the variables related to parental smoking in the presence of children at home.ResultsTwo-thirds of parents who smoked reported smoking in the presence of their children. The results of the hierarchical logistic regression analysis identified the smokers’ compliance with their family’s antismoking responses, mutual agreement with smoking bans, daily smoking, smoking more than 20 cigarettes per day, the education level of the parental smoker, and the annual family income as determinants of smoking in the presence of children at home.ConclusionsHouseholds with smoking parents should be targeted for interventions to encourage the adoption and enforcement of home smoking bans. Educational interventions that promote smoke-free homes for children and provide support to help parents stop smoking are critical factors in reducing the frequency of children’s ETS exposure in the home.
Highlights
In 2009, the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (Taiwan) was amended to more effectively restrict smoking in indoor public places and workplaces in Taiwan
We examined the factors associated with parental smoking in the presence of school-aged children, including parental smokers’ awareness of the risks of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure, their family’s responses to smoking at home and its influence on parental smoking, the implementation of home smoking bans, and the parents’ demographic characteristics
Parental smokers living in households with an annual income of less than NT$600,000 smoked in the presence of their children 1.82 times more frequently than did parental smokers living in households with an annual income of NT$600,000 or more
Summary
In 2009, the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (Taiwan) was amended to more effectively restrict smoking in indoor public places and workplaces in Taiwan. The lack of prohibitions for smoking in private homes may place family members at increased risk for exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Assessments of the impact of smoke-free legislation on children’s exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) at home have varied. Two studies from England and Wales reported no change in children’s exposure to ETS at home after the implementation of smoke-free legislation [3,4]. Another study in Hong Kong reported an increase in children’s exposure to ETS at home following the implementation of comprehensive smoke-free legislation [5]. Smoke-free legislation that excludes private homes may contribute to a relatively high prevalence of ETS exposure at home [7]
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