Stop smoking at home to protect babies

Prohibiting smoking in the home is really the only way to prevent babies from being exposed to tobacco smoke, according to new research. Banning smoking in the home leads to a small but meaningful fall in infant exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, whereas less strict measures have no effect. The researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK, conducted a survey of 314 parents living in smoking households with infants. Nearly all respondents thought tobacco smoke was harmful, yet only a small minority completely banned smoking in the home. Parents were interviewed at home about their knowledge and use of harm reduction strategies, tobacco consumption, and details of the home environment. A sample of the infant's urine was taken to measure levels of cotinine (a by-product of nicotine) and creatinine. Eighty-six percent of parents considered tobacco smoke harmful and 90 percent believed that infants could be protected from exposure in the home. Only one in 10 parents were unaware of any measures to reduce exposure. Although 65 percent of parents used protective measures, only 18 percent actually prohibited smoking in the home. Banning smoking in the home was associated with a small but significant reduction in cotinine levels, whereas less strict or no measures had no effect on exposure of infants.

Despite some limitations, these results suggest that banning smoking at home significantly reduces infant exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Less strict measures, such as opening windows when smoking and using fans, are likely to have little effect on the exposure of infants. However, it is unclear if the fall in cotinine levels actually leads to any health benefits for the infants, including a lower risk of death. The new findings suggest that anything short of a total smoking ban is unlikely to help infants but this needs to be verified in a larger study with more subjects.

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