Correlates of In-home Smoking Behavior of Parents with Newborns

Abstract

Secondhand smoke has been shown to have adverse health effects on young children. It is associated with various health effects such as respiratory infections, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and asthma. Because of the dangers secondhand smoke poses to young children, there is a need for educating parents about the dangers of secondhand smoke as well as determining factors associated with secondhand smoke exposure among children. Understanding these factors may be first step toward developing strategies to reduce ETS exposure. The study examined correlates of in-home smoking behavior of parents with newborns by analyzing 657 respondents who filled out the New Mom Secondhand Smoke Survey collected at the Riverside County Tobacco Free Families Program. These surveys were collected as a part of referral process to recruit eligible clients for the Tobacco Free Families Program. The survey contained 14 questions asking for demographic and secondhand smoke information on mothers who delivered a baby at five collaborating hospitals. Only 9.7% of all respondents reported someone smoking in their house. Smoking inside the house was significantly associated with having both mother and father as smokers as compared to having fathers as sole smokers (odds ratio: 4.16; 95% Cl: 1.34- 12.88). Mothers who believed that secondhand smoke was very dangerous for their baby’s health were less likely to report that someone smoked inside the house as compared to those who believed it was somewhat or not very dangerous, (odds ratio: .163; 95% Cl: .048-.551). Hispanic ethnicity had a weak negative association with smoking inside the house (odds ratio: .473; 95% Cl: 0.22, 1.02). The results of the study indicate that it may be important to target households where both mother and father smoke and educate them on the dangers of secondhand smoke. Furthermore, when attempting to educate young couples with newborns to reduce or eliminate secondhand smoke exposure, it may be important to incorporate a message on the negative health consequences of secondhand smoke on their baby