131 - Smoke-free car policies and parental tobacco smoking cessation

Poster Number: 131
Publication Number: 131.108

Karen M. Wilson, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, United States; Bian Liu, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States; Jeremy E. Drehmer, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Deborah J. Ossip, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States; Paula Cupertino, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States; Jonathan D. Klein, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Jonathan P. Winickoff, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brookline, MA, United States

Background: Setting smoke-free (SFH) home rules helps reduce childhood tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) and is associated with increased parental cessation. Smoking in cars is known to create a reservoir for TSE but less is known about the impact of smoke-free car rules on parental cessation.

Objective: To understand the potential relationship between smokefree car rules and quitting smoking among parents whose children were hospitalized.

Design/Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a randomized, controlled, single-blind clinical trial at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Families of hospitalized children with at least one parent who used tobacco were eligible for participation, and were followed for 12 months. Consenting parents completed questionnaires at baseline and 12 months on patterns of use, and smoke free home and car rules. Cessation was determined by self-reported 7-day abstinence, and confirmed with urine cotinine ( < 10 ng/mL) when nicotine replacement therapy was not used. Analysis with SAS v9.4 used Fisher’s exact tests and Wilcoxon tests for bivariate comparisons by quitting status, and generalized linear model with generalized estimating equations adjusting for potential confounders.

Results: Of 1989 eligible families approached, 263 enrolled (13%), and 140 families had complete follow-up data at 12 months (57%); 28 (20%) reported having quit at 12 months. Only 39% of parents reported a strict rule (not allowing anyone to smoke in car) at baseline; this increased to 57% at 12 months. Parents were more likely to report having quit at 12 months if they had strict car rules either at baseline (29% with strict rules vs. 14% without, p=0.04) or at follow up (34% with strict rules vs. 2% without, p < 0.0001). 32% of the parents who allowed smoking in the car at baseline but prohibited it at 12-month reported being quit at follow-up, similar to the 31% quit rate of parents who had strict rules at both baseline and follow up. None of the parents (Nf41) who allowed smoking in the car at both baseline and follow up had quit. In an adjusted model, prohibiting smoking in the car at any time while enrolled in the study was associated with a higher odds of quitting (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=37 (95%CI 6-252), p=0.0002).Conclusion(s): Parents of hospitalized children who always had or who adopted smoke free car rules were more likely to have quit smoking at 12 months. Encouraging parents to set strict rules about not smoking in the car may support parental cessation.
Table 1: Potential factors by quitting statusTable 1, Page 1
Table 1: Potential factors by quitting statusTable 1, Page 2