Changes in child exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (CHETS) study after implementation of smoke-free legislation in Scotland: national cross sectional survey
Objective To detect any change in exposure to secondhand smoke among primary schoolchildren after implementation of smoke-free legislation in Scotland in March 2006.Design Comparison of nationally representative, cross sectional, class based surveys carried out in the same schools before and after l...
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Published in | BMJ Vol. 335; no. 7619; pp. 545 - 549 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
British Medical Journal Publishing Group
15.09.2007
British Medical Association BMJ Publishing Group LTD BMJ Publishing Group BMJ Publishing Group Ltd |
Edition | International edition |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Objective To detect any change in exposure to secondhand smoke among primary schoolchildren after implementation of smoke-free legislation in Scotland in March 2006.Design Comparison of nationally representative, cross sectional, class based surveys carried out in the same schools before and after legislation.Setting Scotland.Participants 2559 primary schoolchildren (primary 7; mean age 11.4 years) surveyed in January 2006 (before smoke-free legislation) and 2424 in January 2007 (after legislation).Outcome measures Salivary cotinine concentrations, reports of parental smoking, and exposure to tobacco smoke in public and private places before and after legislation.Results The geometric mean salivary cotinine concentration in non-smoking children fell from 0.36 (95% confidence interval 0.32 to 0.40) ng/ml to 0.22 (0.19 to 0.25) ng/ml after the introduction of smoke-free legislation in Scotland—a 39% reduction. The extent of the fall in cotinine concentration varied according to the number of parent figures in the home who smoked but was statistically significant only among pupils living in households in which neither parent figure smoked (51% fall, from 0.14 (0.13 to 0.16) ng/ml to 0.07 (0.06 to 0.08) ng/ml) and among pupils living in households in which only the father figure smoked (44% fall, from 0.57 (0.47 to 0.70) ng/ml to 0.32 (0.25 to 0.42) ng/ml). Little change occurred in reported exposure to secondhand smoke in pupils' own homes or in cars, but a small decrease in exposure in other people's homes was reported. Pupils reported lower exposure in cafes and restaurants and in public transport after legislation.Conclusions The Scottish smoke-free legislation has reduced exposure to secondhand smoke among young people in Scotland, particularly among groups with lower exposure in the home. We found no evidence of increased secondhand smoke exposure in young people associated with displacement of parental smoking into the home. The Scottish smoke-free legislation has thus had a positive short term impact on young people's health, but further efforts are needed to promote both smoke-free homes and smoking cessation. |
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Bibliography: | ArticleID:akhp496851 ark:/67375/NVC-BN3CSLHM-B istex:48AD5D0BA8AD3515479FF26007BEFB744264E1C1 PMID:17827487 href:bmj-335-545.pdf local:bmj;335/7619/545 ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0959-8138 0959-8146 1468-5833 1756-1833 |
DOI: | 10.1136/bmj.39311.550197.AE |