Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in Infants: Declining Trends From 2001 to 2008?

Objective. To define the trend in young children’s exposure to parental secondhand smoke. Methods. Secondary analysis of data was done on families of infants between the ages of 6 and 24 months that had been enrolled for 2 cross-sectional studies in 2001 and 2008. Results. Data from 648 families were analyzed. Overall, 29.8 % of children had been exposed to parental secondhand smoke; 32 % in 2001 and 27.4 % in 2008, (P value>.05). In all cases, the source of exposure was the father; in 2008, 4 families reported both parents as being habitual smokers. Ratio of indoor to outdoor smokers was 2.92 in 2001 and 0.93 in 2008. Conclusion. The decline in the percentage of infants exposed to parental smoking is nonsignificant; parental indoor smoking has decreased significantly but remains at unacceptably high levels. Authorities responsible for the health of young children need to revise interventional policies. Keywords secondhand smoke, passive smoking, children Tobacco smoke, streamline or secondhand smoke, is one of the major preventable causes of premature death and chronic disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) attributes approxi