The trend to smokefree homes
As Figure 1 shows, adolescents report that their
smoking is decreasing, but that smoking among their parents has not
decreased, and more parents no longer permit smoking inside.
Between 2001 and 2005, the
percentage of year 10 students living in a smoky home declined by
4 percentage points. However, smoking prevalence of parents as reported by these
students, stayed constant during these years.
Figure 1. Smoking by
parents, adolescents; and whether smoking permitted in the home
Source: based on data from ASH Year 10
surveys at www.ash.org.nz
Students were asked if they smoked monthly or more often, and
whether one, both or neither parent smoked. Estimations are based
on two parents per student.
Results from the 2005 ASH
survey confirm that homes are becoming less smokey even though
parents are not reducing their smoking.
Current government policy
1 Legislation for
smokefree workplaces has established smokefree environments as
the norm.
2 Government has a
policy of promoting smokefree homes but not by legislation.
2 Government through the
Quit Campaign and Health Sponsorship Council has funded a media
campaign to promote
smokefree homes in the last few years.
3
Government
through Health Research Council has funded Changing parents smoking behaviour to reduce uptake of
smoking among children, in South Auckland, a research project that will
look into smokefree homes and other ways parents influence
children’s smoking.
Why this policy should be strengthened with further
funding as a top priority
Research evidence on the importance of this policy for
preventing adolescent smoking
Laugesen M. Smokefree homes are the key
to reducing adolescent smoking, and reducing parental smoking.
2004. Part of a presentation to Smokefree Auckland group, 14
July 2004.
Smokefree_homes04.ppt
smokefreehomes.pdf
Making the home
smokefree will save lives: Smoky homes mean shorter lives for
nonsmoking family members
Wellington researchers
(Hill, Blakely et al BMJ 2004)
working from the 1996 Census question on smoking and subsequent
death records, have shown that living with a smoker in the late
1990s in New Zealand, before smokers were asked to take the smoke
outside, increased the risk of early death for never smokers in
the same household over the next three years by over 20%. SHSdeaths.pdf
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