Article
Details
Citation
Sims M, Bauld L & Gilmore A (2012) England's legislation on smoking in indoor public places and work-places: impact on the most exposed children. Addiction, 107 (11), pp. 2009-2016. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03924.x
Abstract
Aims: To examine whether English legislation to make virtually all indoor public places and work-places smoke-free on 1 July 2007 displaced smoking into the home and hence increased the proportion of children exposed to levels of second-hand smoke known to be detrimental to health.
Design: Repeated cross-sectional study with data from 10 annual surveys undertaken from 1996 to 2008.
Setting: England.
Participants: Nationally representative samples of non-smoking children aged 4-15 years old living in private households.
Measurements: Salivary cotinine, parental smoking status, whether smoking is allowed within the house, socio-demographic variables.
Findings: The proportion of children exposed to damaging levels of second-hand smoke (defined as those with cotinine levels greater than 1.7 ng/ml) has fallen over time, from 23.5% in 1996 to 12.6% in 2008. The legislation was not associated with further changes in the proportion of children above this threshold -- the odds of having cotinine greater than 1.7 ng/ml did not change after adjustment for the pre-legislative trend and confounders (odds ratio: 1.0, 95% confidence interval: 0.78, 1.4). Non-significant associations were also found when examining children by parental or household smoking status.
Conclusions: Legislation to prohibit smoking in indoor public places and work-places does not increase the proportion of children exposed to damaging levels of second-hand smoke. Even in a country with a strong tobacco control climate, a significant proportion of children remain highly exposed to second-hand smoke and future policies need to include interventions to reduce exposure among these children.
Keywords
Children;
cotinine;
intervention;
passive smoke;
smoking ban;
Smokefree;
second-hand smoke
Journal
Addiction: Volume 107, Issue 11
Status | Published |
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Publication date | 30/11/2012 |
Publication date online | 15/06/2012 |
Date accepted by journal | 19/04/2012 |
URL | |
Publisher | Wiley-Blackwell for the University of Bath |
ISSN | 0965-2140 |
eISSN | 1360-0443 |