Portuguese children's exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke in the family car

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of children's exposure to second-hand smoke in the family car; to compare exposure among children with smoking and non-smoking parents. Methods: In 2011, a self-administered questionnaire was applied to a 4th grade Portuguese children national sample (N = 3187, mean age 9.5 ± 0.7, 51.1% boys). Prevalence rates and chi-square tests were computed. Results: Of the participants, 52.0% reported having, at least, one smoking parent. Overall exposure in the car was 28.9% (95% CI 27.3-30.5). Children's exposure among those reporting smoking parents was 46.9% (95% CI 44.4-49.4); and 8.6% (95% CI 7.1-10.1) among those reporting non-smoking parents (p<.001). Therefore, children with smoking parents were 5.44 times more likely to be exposed. Conclusions: Children's exposure to second-hand smoke in the family car is frequent, especially if one or both parents smoke. This highlights the need for effective tobacco control measures to prevent this severe health hazard.

Keywords

• Second hand smoke
• Tobacco smoke pollution
• Child health
• Environmental health
• Epidemiology
• Health policy
• Health promotion