Everything for People Concerned About Smoking & Nonsmokers' Rights FIRST on the Internet for Smoking News and Documents
.
	Action on Smoking and Health A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions      Home  Search  About ASH  Why Join  Comment  Email Page

Antismoking Parenting Practices Are Associated With Reduced Rates of Adolescent Smoking

M. Robyn Andersen, PhD, MPH; Brian G. Leroux, PhD; Jonathan B. Bricker, MS; Kumar Bharat Rajan, MS; Arthur V. Peterson, Jr, PhD

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine

Objective  To determine whether parental antismoking actions including having rules about smoking in one's home, using nonsmoking sections of public establishments, or asking others not to smoke in one's presence are associated with adolescents' adoption of smoking.

Design  A cross-sectional survey.

Setting  Rural and suburban communities in western Washington State.

Participants  Population-based cohort of 3555 adolescents and their parents.

Measure  Daily smoking in 12th grade.

Results  Adolescents of parents who report having rules about smoking in one's home, using nonsmoking sections of public establishments, or asking others not to smoke in one's presence were significantly less likely to smoke than adolescents of parents who did not engage in antismoking actions. This association of antismoking action and reduced smoking was found for children of both smoking and nonsmoking parents.

Conclusion  Parents' antismoking actions may help prevent smoking by their teenaged children.