Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking and Car Smoking Ban in Families with Infants

Background and Ïnfants’ exposure to cigarette smoke is one of the most crucial public health concerns. Smoking ban in enclosed spaces are a simple way to reduce exposure to cigarette smoke and its harmful effects. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of cigarette smoking, car smoking ban and the related factors in families with infants living in Tehran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1112 families with infants referring to health centers in Tehran in 2010. These families were selected based on multi-level sampling. Â questionnaire containing demographic and social factors, cigarette smoking, and car smoking ban was completed through interviewing the parents. Ït was found that 0.4% of the mothers, 19.5% of the fathers and 9.7% of other family members were smokers and in 1.7% of the families both parents were smokers. Âmong the participants, 77% completely obeyed the smoking ban in the car. The prevalence of complete smoking ban in the car in smoker families was 42.3%, while it was 84.5% in nonsmoker families. Ânalysis of multiple logistic regression showed that odd ratio for the car smoking ban increased (ÔR= 3.3, ÇÏ95%: 1.2-8.7) and the number of cigarettes decreased (ÔR= 3.3, ÇÏ95%: 1.2-8.7) in educated fathers in comparison with less educated ones.Çonclusion: This study suggests that complete smoking ban in the car in most of the smoker families is not obeyed. Regarding the factors related to car smoking ban, health interventions are essential for decreasing infant’s exposure to cigarette smoke.