Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Women and Children: Evidence From 31 Countries

We sought to describe the range of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) among women and children living with smokers around the world and generate locally relevant data to motivate the development of tobacco control policies and interventions in developing countries. In 2006, we conducted a cross-sect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of public health (1971) 2008-04, Vol.98 (4), p.672-679
Main Authors: Wipfli, Heather, Avila-Tang, Erika, Navas-Acien, Ana, Kim, Sungroul, Onicescu, Georgiana, Yuan, Jie, Breysse, Patrick, Samet, Jonathan M, Famri Homes Study Investigators
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Caregivers
Chemicals
Child
Child welfare
Child, Preschool
Children & youth
Cross-Sectional Studies
Data collection
Databases as Topic
Environmental Exposure - adverse effects
Female
General aspects
Hair
Hair - chemistry
Health behavior
Health Surveys
Households
Humans
Laboratories
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Nicotine
Nicotine - adverse effects
Nicotine - analysis
Public health
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Quality control
Questionnaires
Research and Practice
Residence Characteristics
Risk Factors
Smoking
Standard deviation
Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tobacco smoke
Tobacco Smoke Pollution - adverse effects
Women
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Summary:We sought to describe the range of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) among women and children living with smokers around the world and generate locally relevant data to motivate the development of tobacco control policies and interventions in developing countries. In 2006, we conducted a cross-sectional exposure survey to measure air nicotine concentrations in households and hair nicotine concentrations among nonsmoking women and children in convenience samples of 40 households in 31 countries. Median air nicotine concentration was 17 times higher in households with smokers (0.18 mug/m(3)) compared with households without smokers (0.01 mug/m(3)). Air nicotine and hair nicotine concentrations in women and children increased with the number of smokers in the household. The dose-response relationship was steeper among children. Air nicotine concentrations increased an estimated 12.9 times (95% confidence interval=9.4, 17.6) in households allowing smoking inside compared with those prohibiting smoking inside. Our results indicate that women and children living with smokers are at increased risk of premature death and disease from exposure to SHS. Interventions to protect women and children from household SHS need to be strengthened.
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2007.126631