Smoking restrictions in the home and car among rural Native American and white families with young children

Abstract

Background: This paper examines the prevalence of household and car smoking restrictions, factors associated with these restrictions, and children's exposure to secondhand smoke in homes with varying levels of household smoking restrictions in rural Native American and White families.

Methods: In-person interviews were conducted with 380 rural, low-income Native American and White parents or guardians who were the primary caregivers of children aged 1-6 in northeastern Oklahoma.

Results: Prevalence of complete smoking bans was 49.1% in Native American homes and 42.7% in White homes. Car smoking bans were less common, with 34.9% of Native American and 39.6% of White caregivers reporting complete bans. Among nonsmoking households, the proportion of friends who smoked was associated with both car and home smoking bans. Race and education of the caregivers were also associated with car smoking bans in homes with no adult smokers. Among smokers, cigarettes smoked per day, quit attempts within the past year, and the strong belief that secondhand smoke harmed children and babies were related to household smoking bans, whereas cigarettes smoked per day and the proportion of friends who smoked were related to car smoking bans.

Conclusions: Despite the relatively low prevalence of smoking bans in our population, factors associated with household and car smoking bans were similar to those found in the general population.