To what extent do parents strive to protect their children from environmental tobacco smoke in the Nordic countries? A population-based study

Objective-To assess to what extent Nordic parents strive to protect their c hildren from environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) at home. Design-A cross-sectional study using an anonymous questionnaire. Subjects and setting-A stratified, random sample of 5500 households contain ing a child born during 1992, including 1500 households in Denmark and 1000 households in each of the countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Swede n. Main outcome measures-Smoking status of parents, prevalence and magnitude o f weekly ETS exposure, rules regarding smoking in the home. Results-82% of current smokers reported having tried to change their smokin g behaviour for the sake of their children. Of all parents who answered the questionnaire, 75% reported having introduced some rules to limit ETS in t heir home. In households where at least one parent smoked, 57% reported tha t children were exposed to ETS at home. Child exposure to ETS was most prev alent in single-parent households and in households in which parents had lo wer levels of education. However, these parents were not less likely than o ther smoking parents to report having tried to change their smoking behavio ur for the sake of their children. Conclusion-Environmental tobacco smoke at home is still a problem for many children in the Nordic countries. However, most smoking parents reported ha ving made efforts to change their smoking behaviour for the sake of their c hildren; and in approximately half of all households containing at least on e daily smoker, parents reported protecting their children from ETS exposur e in the home. Although actual exposure may be higher owing to possible und er-reporting of ETS, our results indicate a general awareness in the Nordic countries of the potential negative effects of ETS on children.