News Release

Many parents fail to set rules to limit children's exposure to tobacco smoke, according to new study

Secondhand tobacco smoke has been found to be particularly harmful to children's health

Peer-Reviewed Publication

American Psychological Association

WASHINGTON -- Despite health warnings about the dangers of second-hand smoke, a large percentage of families have no rules that limit children's exposure to tobacco smoke. A study involving 1,770 parents and guardians in New York and New Jersey finds that in nearly half of homes and more than half of family cars, children are exposed to secondhand smoke. The research also finds that many parents consistently make no effort to protect their children from secondhand smoke in public places. The findings are published in the spring issue of Families, Systems & Health, a journal published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Researchers Sara Pyle, M.A., and C. Keith Haddock, Ph.D., of the University of Missouri-Kansas City and colleagues approached parents and guardians at 15 pediatric residency-training programs in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area who were waiting for their child's appointment with their pediatrician. The adults were asked to identify from a list of possible rules which family smoking restrictions were in place within their family. This included such rules as "Only adults can smoke," "Adults can smoke, but not around children," and "No smoking is allowed in my home." The researchers also inquired about tobacco exposure rules outside the home, including "Do not allow smoking in the car," "Ask people not to smoke in their presence," and "Usually sit in the no-smoking sections of restaurants."

Findings of the study are not encouraging for children's health, according to the authors. In 40 percent of homes and in more than 50 percent of family cars, children are exposed to tobacco smoke. Additionally, fewer than half of the parents/guardians consistently choose to sit in the smoke-free section of restaurants and trains, and less than half ask others not to smoke in the presence of their children. Families with low incomes and ethnic minorities were among the most likely not to have rules that limit children's exposure to secondhand smoke outside the home. Families with income over $41,000 per year were more likely to report having an entirely smoke-free home and to limit exposure outside the home.

Exposure to all this secondhand smoke – a Class A environmental carcinogen – is especially harmful to children, according to the World Health Organization. Higher incidence of lower respiratory tract infection (such as bronchitis and pneumonia) as well as middle ear diseases and worsening of asthma have been attributed to environmental tobacco smoke.

The results show the need for more public health efforts to ban smoking in public and other enclosed places, say the authors, in order to protect children form the effects of secondhand smoke.

###

Article: "Family Rules About Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke," Sara A. Pyle, MA, and C. Keith Haddock, PhD, University of Missouri – Kansas City, Norman Hymowitz, PhD, Joseph Schwab, MD, and Sarah Meshberg, BA, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School; Families, Systems & Health, Vol. 23, No. 1.

Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office or at http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/fsh2313.pdf

Reporters: C. Keith Haddock, PhD can be reached at (816) 235-1074 or by e-mail at haddockc@umkc.edu. Sara Pyle, MA can be reached at (816) 235-6251 or by e-mail at sarapyle@umkc.edu.

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 150,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 53 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.