Prevalence and correlates of different smoking bans in homes and cars among smokers in six countries of the EUREST-PLUS ITC Europe Surveys

Promoting Smoke-Free Environments: The Impact of Thirdhand Smoke Awareness on Smoking Bans at Home

OBJECTIVE

A creating smoke-free home is a way to protect a vulnerable group from being exposed to secondhand smoke in the home, such as children, infants, and non-smokers. Studies reported an intervention for promoting a smoke-free home by using secondhand smoke messages and smoking cessation messages. However, the thirdhand smoke (THS) message has rarely been found. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the prevalence and correlations of smoking bans in homes.

METHODS

Secondary data from a community-based cross-sectional design survey was used for this study. Smoking ban status was defined as a smoking ban or no smoking ban. We used multiple logistic regression to test the association between factors and smoking ban status. An adjusted odd ratio and 95% confidence interval were reported.

RESULTS

Of the 882 participants included in this analysis, 38.66% (95%CI: 35.43, 41.97) had a smoking ban at home. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that participants who believe that secondhand or THS harms children had a greater correlation with developing a smoking ban in the home compared with those who did not believe (odd ratio: 3.94, 95% confidence interval: 2.35, 6.60 and odd ratio:4.22, 95% confidence interval:2.6, 6.86, respectively).

CONCLUSION

This study found that the belief that thirdhand smoke and secondhand smoke exposure harm children. The smoke-free home message's relevance to the harms of thirdhand smoke exposure should be adapted to be promoted, especially in homes.

Status and correlates of children's exposure to secondhand smoke at home: A survey in Chongqing, China

INTRODUCTION

The home is the primary source of children's exposure to secondhand smoke. This study investigated the status and influencing factors of child exposure to secondhand smoke at home when people smoke in the household.

METHODS

Participants with at least one child living in their household from 10 communities in Chongqing were recruited and provided a self-administered questionnaire using a multistage proportional random sampling design from June to August 2021. The chi-squared test and binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify influencing factors.

RESULTS

The questionnaire completed by 1345 families showed that 631 (46.9%) families lived with smokers in their household, and 509 (80.7%) of those families reported that smoking occurred within the home while the children were present. Binary logistic regression analyses demonstrated that the time between waking up and household smokers having the first cigarette of the day (OR=0.44; 95% CI: 0.22-0.85), changes to smoking habits and behaviors within the last six months (OR=1.76; 95% CI: 1.06-2.90), attitudes towards tobacco control in the household (OR=2.91; 95% CI: 1.72-4.92), self-efficacy in maintaining a smoke-free home (OR=2.27; 95% CI: 1.36-3.79), having rules to maintain a smoke-free home (OR=3.25; 95% CI: 1.68-6.29), and the status of providing cigarettes to guests at home (OR=11.0; 95% CI: 1.33-90.8) were associated with exposure to SHS.

CONCLUSIONS

Education focusing on the impact of smoking on children's health should be encouraged. Smoke-free homes should be established, and smoking restrictions in the household should be enacted. Therefore, information about the available tobacco-control services should be given to family members and be used properly. It is an effective way to decrease the risk of at-home exposure to SHS for children, to overcome any obstacles in tobacco control.

Status and correlates of home smoking bans after the implementation of the smoke-free legislation in public places: A survey in Chongqing

INTRODUCTION

Secondhand smoke exposure in many countries decreased dramatically after the implementation of smoke-free legislation in public places, but the exposure at home did not change to the same degree. The aim of this study was to describe the status and correlates of a home smoking ban in Chongqing, China.

METHODS

From June to August 2021, we selected two healthcare centers in the East, West, North, South and Middle regions of Chongqing. We investigated the family smoke-free situation in the selected region using a stratified random sampling method. A chi-squared test was performed to compare the totally and partially smoke-free homes, and a binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the correlates of smoke-free rules at home.

RESULTS

The study investigated 2121 families, among which 884 (41.7%) implemented a total ban on smoking at home. The covariates included age (OR=1.54; 95% CI: 1.18–2.01), living with children aged <14 years (OR=1.51; 95% CI: 1.20–1.90), no smokers in the family (OR=2.37; 95% CI: 1.78–3.17), awareness of the hazards of secondhand smoke (OR=1.30; 95% CI: 1.07–1.59), worrying about the impact of smoking in the presence of children on health (OR=1.92; 95% CI: 1.25–2.95), no difficulty (OR=1.34; 95% CI: 1.07–1.67) and confidence (OR=1.73; 95% CI: 1.41–2.13) in stopping others from smoking, no smoking rules in cars (OR=3.67; 95% CI: 2.58–5.22), and frequency of entertaining guests with cigarettes (OR=0.41; 95% CI: 0.28–0.59).

CONCLUSIONS

It is common for households in Chongqing to have smoking bans, especially those with children. If a family has members that are smokers, education researchers should pay more attention to the hazards of secondhand smoke on the health of family members, and to adopt more tobacco control measures and enhance the self-efficacy of implementing a home smoking ban. Helping smokers to quit is a vital way to decrease the hazards of cigarettes.

Factors Related to a Smoke-free Home Status: A Parental Report

Purpose:

The household smoking ban is one potential strategy for reducing exposure to second-hand smoke at home. There is little information about whether concurrent alcohol and tobacco use are related to a smoking ban at home. This study aimed to examine the association between concurrent alcohol and tobacco use with the household smoking ban strategy as reported by the parents of schoolchildren.

Methods:

We used data from a cross-sectional study that surveyed schoolchildren at 9 schools (grades 6 to 8). A self-administered questionnaire was sent out to the parents of 1,335 schoolchildren. Household smoking ban status was reported by the parents. We used multiple logistics regression to investigate the association between the household smoking ban and alcohol and tobacco use adjusted for potential confounders.

Results:

The prevalence of a no-smoking ban in households was 51% (95% confidence interval: 48.4%, 53.8%). After adjusting for the number of smokers in a home and perceptions about the harm of exposure to second-hand smoke, the multiple logistics regression results showed that concurrent alcohol and tobacco use in the households (OR = 2.31; 95% CI: 1.66, 3.20) had a higher risk of a no-smoking ban.

Conclusions:

Our findings showed that concurrent alcohol and tobacco use was associated with a smoking ban status in households. A no-alcohol-drinking-at-home campaign should be adopted and promoted for increasing the rate of smoke-free homes.

Voluntary Smoke-Free Home Rules and Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in Poland: A National Cross-Sectional Survey

Smoke-free policies have been shown to significantly reduce secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in private and public places. The objectives of this study were to: (1) to assess the prevalence and characteristics of voluntary smoke-free home rules in Poland; and (2) assess the association of smoke-free rules with self-reported SHS exposure in private homes. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in September 2019 with a nationally representative sample of 1011 individuals aged 15 and over. Nationally, 66.1% of individuals had a 100% smoke-free home rule (78.9% of non-smokers and 18.6% of smokers; p < 0.001), while a further 24.6% had adopted a partial home smoking rule. SHS exposure in the home during past month was reported by 6.1% of respondents (11.5% of smokers and 4.5% of non-smokers; p < 0.001). The lowest level of SHS exposure (1.8%) was observed among respondents who had implemented a full smoke-free home rule. Non-smokers had higher odds of having adopted a total smoke-free home rule compared with smokers (aOR: 19.17; 95% CI: 12.89-28.50). Moreover, non-smokers had lower odds (aOR: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.20-0.61; p < 0.001) of self-reporting SHS smoke exposure at home. Although two-thirds of the Polish population have adopted a full smoke-free home rule in their homes, smokers continue to lag in adoption rates relative to non-smokers.

Regulation of Electronic Cigarette Use in Public and Private Areas in 48 Countries Within the WHO European Region: A Survey to In-country Informants

Background

The objective of this study is to describe the legislation regulating the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in various places in European countries.

Methods

A survey among experts from all countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region was conducted in 2018. We collected and described data on legislation regulating e-cigarette use indoors and outdoors in public and private places, the level of difficulties in adopting the legislation, and the public support and compliance. Factors associated with the legislation adoption were identified with Poisson and linear regression analyses.

Results

Out of 48 countries, 58.3% had legislation on e-cigarette use at the national level. Education facilities were the most regulated place (58.3% of countries), while private areas (eg, homes, cars) were the least regulated ones (39.6%). A third of countries regulated e-cigarette use indoors. Difficulty and support in adopting the national legislation and its compliance were all at a moderate level. Countries’ smoking prevalence and income levels were linked to legislation adoption.

Conclusions

Although most WHO European Region countries had introduced e-cigarette use legislation at the national level, only a few of the legislation protect bystanders in indoor settings.