Parental perceptions of exposure to tobacco smoke: a new tool to shed light on parental smoking behaviour

Around 40% of children are exposed to tobacco smoke, increasing their risk of poor health. Previous research has demonstrated misunderstanding among smoking parents regarding children’s exposure. The parental perceptions of exposure (PPE) measure uses visual and textual vignettes to assess awareness of exposure to smoke. The study aimed to determine whether PPE is related to biochemical and reported measures of exposure in children with smoking parents. Families with at least one smoking parent and a child ≤ age 8 were recruited. In total, 82 parents completed the PPE questionnaire, which was assessed on a scale of 1–7 with higher scores denoting a broader perception of exposure. Parents provided a sample of their child’s hair and a self-report of parental smoking habits. Parents who reported smoking away from home had higher PPE ratings than parents who smoke in and around the home (p = 0.026), constituting a medium effect size. PPE corresponded with home smoking frequency, with rare or no home exposure associated with higher PPE scores compared to daily or weekly exposure (p < 0.001). PPE was not significantly related to hair nicotine but was a significant explanatory factor for home smoking location. PPE was significantly associated with parental smoking behaviour, including location and frequency. High PPE was associated with lower exposure according to parental report. This implies that parental understanding of exposure affects protective behaviour and constitutes a potential target for intervention to help protect children.

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Parental smoking behaviour and effects of tobacco smoke on children's health in Finland and Russia

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckm053 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 55-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

T. T. Hugg ◽

M. S. Jaakkola ◽

R. O. Ruotsalainen ◽

V. J. Pushkarev ◽

J. J.K. Jaakkola

Keyword(s):

Tobacco Smoke ◽

Smoking Behaviour ◽

Parental Smoking ◽

Children's Health ◽

Children’S Health

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Changing Exposure Perceptions: A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Intervention with Smoking Parents

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17103349 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (10) ◽

pp. 3349

Author(s):

Vicki Myers ◽

Shoshana Shiloh ◽

David M. Zucker ◽

Laura J. Rosen

Keyword(s):

Controlled Trial ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Smoking Behaviour ◽

Parental Perceptions ◽

Parental Smoking ◽

Tobacco Smoke Exposure ◽

Control Group ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Regular Control ◽

Nicotine Level

Children who live with smokers are at risk of poor health, and of becoming smokers themselves. Misperceptions of the nature of tobacco smoke exposure have been demonstrated among parents, resulting in continued smoking in their children’s environment. This study aimed to change parents’ perceptions of exposure by providing information on second- and third-hand exposure and personalised information on children’s exposure [NIH registry (NCT02867241)]. One hundred and fifty-nine families with a child < 8 years and at least one smoking parent were randomized into intervention (69), control (70), and enhanced control (20) groups. Reported exposure, parental smoking details, and a child hair sample were obtained at the start of the study and 6–8 months later. Parental perceptions of exposure (PPE) were assessed via a questionnaire. The intervention consisted of motivational interviews, feedback of home air quality and child’s hair nicotine level, and information brochures. PPE were significantly higher at the study end (94.6 ± 17.6) compared to study beginning (86.5 ± 19.3) in intervention and enhanced control groups (t(72) = −3.950; p < 0.001). PPE at study end were significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the regular control group (p = 0.020). There was no significant interaction between time and group. Parallel changes in parental smoking behaviour were found. Parental perceptions of exposure were increased significantly post intervention, indicating that they can be altered. By making parents more aware of exposure and the circumstances in which it occurs, we can help parents change their smoking behaviour and better protect their children.

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Asthma is not Enough: Continuation of Smoking Among Parents with an Asthmatic Child

Canadian Respiratory Journal ◽

10.1155/2007/178789 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 349-353 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Joel J Liem ◽

Anita L Kozyrskyj ◽

Cecilia M Benoit ◽

Allan B Becker

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Family History ◽

Environmental Tobacco Smoke ◽

Tobacco Smoke ◽

Smoking Behaviour ◽

Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure ◽

Parental Smoking ◽

Tobacco Smoke Exposure ◽

Quit Smoking ◽

History Of

BACKGROUND: Ideally, on diagnosis of asthma in a child, parents are counselled to decrease environmental tobacco smoke exposure to their children.OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a diagnosis of asthma in children altered parental smoking behaviour toward a reduction in environmental tobacco smoke exposure.METHODS: In 2002/2003, a survey was sent to 12,556 households with children born in 1995 in Manitoba. Parents were asked whether their seven-year-old child had asthma, and whether smokers were present in the home in 1995 and/or currently. The likelihood (OR) of a change in parental smoking behaviour was determined according to the presence of asthma in their child, a family history of asthma, the location of residence (rural or urban) and their socioeconomic status.RESULTS: A total of 3580 surveys (28.5%) were returned. The overall prevalence of parental smoking in 1995 and 2002/2003 was 32.2% and 23.4%, respectively (31.9%/23.2% and 32.3%/23.6% in rural and urban environments, respectively). In 2002/2003, the prevalence of parental smoking in homes with asthmatic children was 29.8%. Parents were not more likely to quit smoking (OR=1.01, 95% CI 0.66 to 1.54) or smoke outside (OR=1.02, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.83) if their child developed asthma. Parental smoking behaviour (quit smoking or smoked outside) did not change if there was a positive family history of asthma (OR=1.04, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.37), if they lived in a rural or urban location (OR=0.94, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.23), or if they were from a low- or high-income household (OR=1.12, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.47).CONCLUSIONS: The likelihood of altering parental smoking behaviour occurred independently of a diagnosis of asthma in their child, a family history of asthma, the location of residence and their socioeconomic status.

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Evaluation of the relationship between antenatal and postnatal tobacco smoke exposure and childhood cancers.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.e22011 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. e22011-e22011

Author(s):

Nurdan Tacyildiz ◽

Adil Güzel ◽

Filiz Bakar Ateş ◽

Derya Özyörük ◽

Emel Cabi Unal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cancer Patients ◽

Tobacco Smoke ◽

Smoke Exposure ◽

Parental Smoking ◽

Tobacco Smoke Exposure ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Childhood Cancers ◽

Current Smoking ◽

Smoking During Pregnancy ◽

Smoking Behaviours

e22011 Background: The incidence of childhood cancers increased by 1 % per year over the last three decades. Life style changes and increased variety of environmental exposures are accused of this trend. One of these environmental factors is cigarette smoking and parental smoking is the main source of tobacco smoke exposure of children. There are strong reasons for considering parental smoking behaviour as a risk factor for childhood cancers. Many tobacco related compounds are detected in fetal tissues, breast milk and tissues of children of smoking parents. However, it is hard to make causal relationship between parental smoking and childhood cancers. One of the reasons is the difficulty to detect tobacco smoke exposure. Questionnaires, commonly used method to detect tobacco smoke exposure, are prone to biases. Cotinine is the main metabolite of nicotine which is the abundant organic compound in tobacco and a good biomarker to detect tobacco smoke exposure. Methods: 104 newly diagnosed, 0-18 years aged pediatric cancer patients from two pediatric oncology centers ( Ankara University Children’s Hospital and Ankara City Hospital) and 99 healthy children aged 0-18 applied to the Ankara University Children’s Hospital participated our study. Parental smoking behaviours (preconceptional, during pregnancy and current smoking) and environmental tobacco smoke exposures (ETS) of children were compared between two groups. ETS exposures of cancer patients and healthy children were evaluated by hair cotinine ELISA analysis and questionnaire. For hair cotinine analysis, 30 mg of hair samples were taken from occipital part of scalp by a stainless scissors. Samples were processed according to manufacturer's instructions. Parents of two groups were surveyed about their smoking behaviours and ETS exposures of their children. Results: We found no differences between two groups by means of maternal preconceptional smoking, smoking during pregnancy and current smoking behaviours. Paternal preconceptional smoking and smoking during pregnancy rates were significantly low in cancer patients (p < 0,05) according to questionnaire. Environmental tobacco smoke exposures were found statistically low in cancer patients according to questionnaire (p < 0,05). However, quantitative exposure assessment by hair cotinine analysis revealed that cancer patients are exposed to tobacco smoke more than healthy children (p < 0,001). Conclusions: Our findings support that smoking could be a risk factor for childhood cancers. This study also revealed that questionnaires could cause biases. We thought, social desirability bias of father of cancer patients could be a reason of their low smoking rates according to questionnaire. We suggest that cotinine analysis along with validated questionnaires can be used to prevent biases in studies of tobacco smoke in the etiology of childhood cancers.

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Impacts of smoke-free public places legislation on inequalities in youth smoking uptake: study protocol for a secondary analysis of UK survey data

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022490 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. e022490 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Philip Emeka Anyanwu ◽

Peter Craig ◽

Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi ◽

Michael James Green

Keyword(s):

Survey Data ◽

Event History Analysis ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Smoking Behaviour ◽

Parental Smoking ◽

Ethical Review ◽

Youth Smoking ◽

Public Places ◽

Smoking Uptake ◽

The Impact

IntroductionSmoke-free public places legislation has been introduced in many countries to protect the public from the harmful effects of secondhand smoking. While evaluations of smoke-free policies have demonstrated major public health benefits, the impact on youth smoking and inequalities in smoking remains unclear. This project aims to evaluate how smoke-free public places legislation in the UK has impacted on inequalities in youth smoking uptake, and how much of any impact is via changes in parental smoking behaviour.Methods and analysisThe study will constitute secondary analyses of UK data (from the British Household Panel Survey and the Understanding Society study). Merging these datasets gives coverage of the period from 1994 to 2016. Missing data will be handled using multiple imputation. The primary outcomes are the rates and inequalities in initiation, experimentation, escalation to daily smoking and quitting among youths aged 11–15 years. Secondary outcomes include the prevalence of smoking among parents of these youths. Discrete-time event history analysis will be conducted to examine whether changes in the probability of youth smoking transitions are associated with the implementation of the smoke-free public places legislation; and whether any observed effects differ by socioeconomic position and parental smoking. A multilevel logistic regression model will be used to investigate whether there is a step change or change in trend for the prevalence of parental smoking after the policy was implemented. The models will be adjusted for relevant factors (including cigarette taxation, the change in the legal age for purchase of cigarettes and e-cigarette prevalence) that may be associated with the implementation of the legislation.Ethics and disseminationThis project will use anonymised survey data which have been collected following independent ethical review. The dissemination of the study findings will adopt multiple communication channels targeting both scientific and non-scientific audiences.

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Parental perceptions of children’s exposure to tobacco smoke: development and validation of a new measure

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-018-5928-1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Vicki Myers ◽

Shoshana Shiloh ◽

Laura Rosen

Keyword(s):

Tobacco Smoke ◽

Parental Perceptions ◽

Development And Validation ◽

Children’S Exposure

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Ten Years and More of ‘Biosciences’ in CORESTA - A Brief Historic Overview

Beiträge zur Tabakforschung International/Contributions to Tobacco Research ◽

10.2478/cttr-2013-0931 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 25 (5) ◽

pp. 563-571

Author(s):

W Röper

Keyword(s):

Tobacco Smoke ◽

Toxicity Testing ◽

Study Groups ◽

Smoking Behaviour ◽

Smoke Exposure ◽

Tobacco Smoke Exposure ◽

Design Parameters ◽

Smoke Toxicity ◽

Clear Trend

AbstractIn June 2001, the CORESTA2 Board formally decided to broaden the scope of CORESTA by engaging in biosciences (other than tobacco agronomy and phytopathology), starting with in vitro toxicity testing and biomarkers of tobacco (smoke) exposure. Until then, work addressing biological aspects of smoking had only been done since 1996 by a special committee within CORESTA, reporting directly to the Scientific Commission, the Smoking Behaviour Committee. Membership of that committee was - similar to ACAC3 - by invitation only. The broadened scope consequently led to the re-shaping of the then Study Groups ‘Smoke’ and ‘Technology’ into ‘Smoke Science’ (SS) and ‘Product Technology’ (PT).Subsequently, three Sub-Groups (SG) and Task Forces (TF) were set up, reflecting this change: i) SG Smoking Behaviour (name change of former Committee in 2001), ii) TF ‘Nicotine Intake’ (2001, later on named ‘Nicotine Uptake’, disbanded in 2009) and iii) TF ‘In vitro Toxicity Testing of Tobacco Smoke’ (2002). Finally, a new SG ‘Biomarkers’ was launched in 2009 with a wider scope than its predecessor TF ‘Nicotine Uptake’. The work of these groups has had and still has significant impact on the scientific work within CORESTA, leading to numerous presentations at CORESTA meetings and publications in peer-reviewed journals.This paper provides a brief analysis of some 270 presentations and posters addressing tobacco smoke toxicity, human smoking behaviour or biomarkers, delivered at CORESTA Congresses and SSPT Joint Meetings between 1993 and 2011. More than 50% of these papers covered different aspects of toxicology, mainly in vitro toxicity testing methodologies, smoke exposure systems and other equipments. Other papers described the influence of cigarette design parameters on smoke toxicity. Approaches to human risk assessment were presented, including the search for suitable in vitro models of the major smoking related human diseases.CORESTA began discussing smoking behaviour topics at their Vienna meeting in 1995 and received five respective presentations there; indeed, the issue has various aspects, from smoking topography and human smoke yield to smoke uptake, deposition and retention, and… Why do people smoke at all?As early as 1996, a presentation was given on the determination of urinary mutagenicity in volunteers exposed to ETS (environmental tobacco smoke), apparently indicating a need for CORESTA to engage in this field and to face new challenges. Indeed, our knowledge of biomarkers and how to measure them has increased considerably over the years, and there is a clear trend towards using this knowledge for conducting clinical studies into the assessment of ‘modified risk tobacco products’.

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