A pilot study of parents’ smoking behaviors and associated factors with their smoking in the presence of children

Ping-Ling Chen, Taipei Medical University
Yu-Ting Chen, Taipei Medical University

Background: Children in school age exposing to environmental tobacco smoke at home has been greatly concerned for a long time. Parental smoking has been proved to be the main source that caused children’s exposure. Objective: The aim of this pilot study was to determine smoking pattern, preventive efforts, and perceptions regarding parents’ smoking in the presence of children and their children’s exposure to ETS at home. Methods: A total of 114 parents were participated in pilot, with 57 mothers and 57 fathers. Parents’ smoking experience, preventive efforts, and perceptions among parents regarding their children’s exposure to ETS at home were collected using a self-answered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and t test were used to investigate Parents’ smoking experience, preventive efforts, and perceptions among parents regarding their children’s exposure to ETS at home and examine the difference of the above factors between difference smoking patterns. Results: 40.71% parents were smokers. 69.64% of fathers and 12.28% of mothers smoked, significant difference of smoking status existed between fathers and mothers. For all smoking parents, 52.17% smoked in the presence of their children. 55% of smoking fathers and 33.33% of smoking mothers smoked in the presence of their children. Two most common strategies that smoking parents used to prevent children’s exposure to ETS were smoking outdoors (54.55%) and smoking indoors with well ventilation (25%). Parents who didn’t smoke in the presence of children presented more negative perceptions on smoking behavior (21.5±3.6, p=0.03) and disagreement on seeing smoking as a cultural custom (p=0.03), and more agreement on the impact of ETS to children (26.5±3.5, p<0.01), in compared with parents who smoked in the presence of children. Results of the study emphasize the importance of weighing attitude against ETS and promoting parents’ risk awareness in preventing children’s exposure to ETS.