Household smoking practices of parents with young children, and predictors of poor household smoking practices

Objectives: Household smoking practices of parents have a major impact on the health of their young children. This study examined the characteristics and household smoking practices of parents with children aged 4-5 years, and identified the predictive factors of poor household smoking practices among Chinese parents in Hong Kong. Study design: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: Smoking parents with young children from a 1997 birth cohort were re-contacted for a telephone interview to assess their household smoking practices. Results: Among 1149 smoking parents from 1049 families, 898 (85.6%) parents smoked at home. Of these, 339 (37.8%) parents reported smoking at home but not near (i.e. within 3 metres) their children, and 559 (62.2%) reported that they smoked at home without any restrictions. Logistic regression revealed that the predictors of poor household smoking practices were: smoking mother [odds ratio (OR) 4.92, P < 0.001]; children born with normal birth weight (OR 2.62, P < 0.05); having more than one child (OR 1.70, P = 0.01); being a daily smoker (OR 18.96, P < 0.0001); smoking ≥ 11 cigarettes per day (OR 3.10, P < 0.0001); having a higher Fagerstorm nicotine dependence score (OR 4.57-4.86, P < 0.01); and having a smoking partner (OR 2.78, P < 0.05). Conclusions: A high proportion of smoking parents with young children display poor smoking practices at home. It is of the utmost importance that community education and smoking cessation services are targeted at these smoking parents to promote smoke-free families.