Smoking status of step-parents as a risk factor for smoking in adolescence

Joint Effects of Parental Smoking Cessation and an Antismoking Parenting Program on Children's Susceptibility to Smoking: A Three-Year Prospective Study

Cognitive susceptibility to smoking is indicated by positive social expectancies about smoking, being curious about smoking, wanting to try smoking, and intending to try smoking. Among children, cognitive susceptibility is a risk factor for initiating smoking; reducing susceptibility is, therefore, a viable primary prevention strategy. Our study tested prospectively the combined effect of two variables-parental modeling of smoking cessation and parental exposure to an antismoking parenting program-on cognitive susceptibility to smoking among children who had never puffed on a cigarette. The study sample comprised 859 daily smokers who called a state Quitline seeking assistance to quit smoking and these adults' 8- to 10-year-old children. The factors in the 2 × 2 design were parental modeling of cessation (successful cessation vs. continued smoking) and parental exposure to an antismoking parenting program (program vs. control). We hypothesized that children whose parents both quit smoking and received the antismoking parenting program would report lower susceptibility to smoking than children exposed to one or neither of these factors. Multivariable analysis of variance, conducted using child-reported susceptibility to smoking collected 12, 24, and 36 months post-baseline, confirmed this hypothesis. Post hoc tests for simple main effects showed that, at each time point, parent smoking cessation had a significant protective effect on children's susceptibility to smoking, but only among children whose parents received the parenting program. These tests also showed that the parenting program had a significant protective effect on children's susceptibility to smoking, but only among children whose parents had successfully quit smoking. Our study results suggest that Quitlines and other programs that assist adults in quitting smoking could extend the reach and benefits of such assistance by providing parents with resources that promote antismoking parenting practices.

Determinants of alcohol use and khat chewing among Hawassa University students, Ethiopia: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND

Students' alcohol and khat use have been associated with various health related problems. However, its magnitude and associated factors among Ethiopian students are not yet well documented.

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to assess the prevalence of alcohol use, khat chewing and its associated factors among Hawassa University students.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to July 2011. Multistage stratified sampling technique was employed to select 590 students. Self administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Data was entered and analysed by SPSS version 20.0. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify the association of different variables.

RESULTS

The current prevalence of student's alcohol and khat use were 29.5% (95% CI: 25.8-33.3) and 16.3% (95% CI: 13.7-20.0) respectively. Being male (AOR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-3.0) and living alone (AOR 20.1; 95% CI 2.5-166.7) had a higher odds of alcohol use. Similarly, family substance use history (AOR 4.8; 95% CI 2.5-9.3) and peer influence (AOR 4.6; 95% CI 2.3-9.0) had also higher odds of khat use.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

The proportion of student's khat chewing and alcohol use was significant. Hence, higher education in collaboration with other stakeholders should work on convincing students about the ill effects of these substances.

Should academic journals publish e-cigarette research linked to tobacco companies?

CONTEXT

Electronic cigarettes are currently polarizing professional opinion. Some public health experts regard them as an effective smoking cessation aid and a vital means of reducing active and passive smoking, while others regard them as another attempt by the tobacco industry to create new customers and addicts. These different attitudes unsurprisingly yield different conclusions regarding both the appropriate regulation of e-cigarettes and the ethical status of research funded by, or conducted in, cooperation with the tobacco industry.

AIM

This paper examines whether e-cigarette research linked to the tobacco industry should be regarded as an exception to the rule that tobacco industry research is so tainted by conflicts of interest that journals should refuse to publish them, or at the very least treat them as a special case for scrutiny.

RESULTS

Despite the fact that e-cigarettes can be used for smoking cessation, most of the conflicts of interest that apply to other tobacco research also apply to e-cigarette research linked to that industry.

CONCLUSION

Journals that currently refuse to publish findings from studies linked to tobacco companies have no reason to make an exception in the case of e-cigarettes.

Transmission of Smoking across Three Generations in Finland

The influence of parents’ smoking on children’s smoking is well known, but few studies have examined the association between grandparents’ and grandchildren’s smoking. We studied the association between paternal and maternal grandparents’ smoking and their grandchildren’s tobacco use and assessed whether parents’ smoking is a mediator in this process. Data were obtained from a national survey of 12–18-year-old Finns in 2013 (N = 3535, response rate 38%). Logistic regression and mediation analyses were used. Both boys and girls had higher odds for smoking experimentation, daily smoking and other tobacco or tobacco-like product use if their mother, father or any of the four grandparents were current or former smokers. When parents’ and grandparents’ smoking status were included in the same model, grandparents’ smoking generally lost statistical significance. In the mediation analysis, 73% of the total effect of grandparents’ smoking on grandchildren’s daily smoking was mediated through parents’ smoking, 64% on smoking experimentation and 63% on other tobacco or tobacco-like product use. The indirect effect of a mother’s smoking was higher than that of a father’s. To conclude, paternal and maternal grandparents’ smoking increases grandchildren’s tobacco use. The influence is mainly, but not completely, mediated through parents’ smoking.

Factors affecting the decision to quit smoking of the participants of a hospital-based smoking cessation program in Greece

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that affect people who are in the process of quitting smoking.

METHODS

A randomly selected sample of 110 participants in a smoking cessation program (SCP) of a hospital in Thessaloniki Greece. Instruments of data collection were: i) the Demographic Data Lifestyle Questionnaire and ii) the Fragerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire. ANOVA tests between the Demographic Data Lifestyle Questionnaire and the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire relating to the smokers' determination to quit smoking applied.

RESULTS

Work satisfaction was related to whether the participants had difficulty to smoke in places that prohibited smoking and to how many cigarettes they smoked per day. If a non-smoker partner was urging the participant to quit smoking, it affected the hours of the day when the respondents smoked more cigarettes. Pressure from a non-smoking spouse was a deterrent from smoking many cigarettes during morning hours. Those participants who consumed alcohol smoked cigarettes containing higher levels of nicotine.

CONCLUSION

Smoking cessation is a difficult process which is influenced by many factors such as educational level, work satisfaction and the presence of a partner.

The role of family background on adolescent khat chewing behavior in Jazan Region

BACKGROUND

Khat is a well-known natural stimulant from the Catha edulis plant and is widely used in certain Red Sea countries, including Yemen and the province of Jazan in Saudi Arabia. Jazan is located in the southwestern part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia adjacent to Yemen, where the practice of khat chewing is deeply rooted throughout the entire population. The main objective of this paper was to assess the association between family background, i.e., parent and sibling khat use, and adolescents' khat chewing behavior in Jazan. Other variables were also tested for association, including parents' education levels, family income, and peer influence.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted with a representative sample (n = 4,100) of intermediate and upper secondary school students of Jazan. The participants were selected using a three-stage cluster random sampling. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics, a chi-squared test, and logistic regression were performed to examine the associations and predictors of khat chewing.

RESULTS

A total of 3,923 students of both genders from 72 intermediate and upper secondary schools in Jazan were involved in this study. Of these participants, 42.8% (1,678) were from intermediate schools and 43.8% (1,717) were females. The prevalence of current khat chewing among the students was 20.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 19.27-21.79) and was significantly higher for males at 33.1% (95% CI 31.16-35.08) than for females, of whom 4.3% (95% CI 3.39-5.31) (P < 0.001) chew khat. The multivariate logistic regression analysis suggests that the most important independent predictors of student khat chewing included the students' smoking status (odds ratio (OR) = 14.03, P < 0.001), a friend using khat (OR = 5.65, P < 0.001), a sister using khat (OR = 2.04, P < 0.05), a father using khat (OR = 1.45, P < 0.001), and a brother using khat (OR = 1.56, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The results highlight the significant impact of peer and familial khat abuse in adolescent khat chewing behavior. The findings suggest that khat control programs need to focus on peers and family members to reduce the prevalence of the habit along with its unfavorable consequences.

Contribution of parental and school personnel smoking to health risk behaviours among Finnish adolescents

BACKGROUND

This study compared parental smoking with school personnel smoking in relation to adolescents' smoking behaviours, alcohol use, and illicit drug use.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey for 24,379 adolescents was linked to a survey for 1946 school employees in 136 Finnish schools in 2004-2005. Surveys included smoking prevalence reported by school staff, adolescents' reports of school staff and parental smoking, adolescents' own smoking behaviours, alcohol use, and illicit drug use. Multilevel analyses were adjusted for individual and school-level confounding factors.

RESULTS

Parental smoking was associated with all health risk behaviours among both sexes (risk range 1.39 to 1.95 for other outcomes; Odds Ratio OR for smoking cessation 0.64, 95% Confidence Interval CI: 0.57, 0.72 among boys, 0.72; 0.64, 0.81 among girls). Among boys, high vs. low smoking prevalence among school personnel was associated with higher probability of smoking (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.01,1.41), higher frequency of smoking during school time (Cumulative Odds Ratio COR 1.81; 95% CI 1.32, 2.48), frequent alcohol use (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.01, 1.50), illicit drug use (OR 1.40; 95% CI 1.16, 1.69), and higher odds of reporting adults smoking at school (COR 1.51; 95% CI 1.09, 2.09). Among girls, high smoking prevalence among school personnel was related to higher odds of smoking (OR 1.18; 95% CI 1.02, 1.37) and lower odds of smoking cessation (OR 0.84; 95% CI 0.72, 0.99).

CONCLUSION

Parental smoking and school personnel smoking are both associated with adolescents' health risk behaviours but the association of parental smoking seems to be stronger.

Parental smoking and adolescent smoking initiation: an intergenerational perspective on tobacco control

OBJECTIVE

Adolescence is an important period of risk for the development of lifelong smoking behaviors. Compelling, although inconsistent, evidence suggests a relationship between parental smoking and the risk of smoking initiation during adolescence. This study investigates unresolved issues concerning the strength and nature of the association between parent smoking and offspring smoking initiation.

METHODS

We enrolled 564 adolescents aged 12 to 17, along with 1 of their parents, into the New England Family Study between 2001 and 2004. Lifetime smoking histories were obtained from parents and their adolescent offspring. Discrete-time survival analysis was used to investigate the influence of parental smoking histories on the risk of adolescent smoking initiation.

RESULTS

Parental smoking was associated with a significantly higher risk of smoking initiation in adolescent offspring. In addition, the likelihood of offspring smoking initiation increased with the number of smoking parents and the duration of exposure to parental smoking, suggesting a dose-response relationship between parental smoking and offspring smoking. Offspring of parents who had quit smoking were no more likely to smoke than offspring of parents who had never smoked. The effects of parental smoking on offspring initiation differed by sex (with a stronger effect of fathers' smoking on boys than girls), developmental period (with a stronger effect of parental smoking before the adolescent was age 13 than afterward), and residence of parents (with effects of fathers' smoking being dependent on living in the same household as the adolescent). Parental smoking was also associated with stronger negative reactions to adolescents' first cigarette, a potential marker of the risk of progression to higher levels of use.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental smoking is an important source of vulnerability to smoking initiation among adolescents, and parental smoking cessation might attenuate this vulnerability.