PARENT SMOKING AND ASTHMATIC CHILDRENS EXPOSURE PATTERNS - A BEHAVIORAL EPIDEMIOLOGY STUDY

Exposure of nonsmokers to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has become an important public health issue; it is generally agreed that increas ed exposure is related to morbidity and mortality. Precise prevalence estimates of exposure are not yet available, and measurement methodolo gy for ETS exposure rates is still in its formative stage. Recent inte rventions have attempted to reduce ETS exposure, particularly in child ren of smoking parents. Studies have relied primarily upon reduction o f parents' smoking rates to indirectly reduce children's ETS exposure. In order to effectively design interventions to achieve reductions in ETS exposure, more attention must be given to smoking behaviors which lead to passive exposure. Ninety-one families with at least one smoki ng parent and an asthmatic child were recruited from four allergy clin ics, and interviewed regarding their smoking history, current resident ial smoking patterns, and the children's exposure patterns. Descriptiv e data are presented. It is striking that the most smoking and most ex posure did not occur in the same locations, times, or during the same activities. It is recommended that interventions focus closely on thes e patterns rather than on reduction of smoking rates alone, in order t o effect reduction in ETS exposure.