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James C. Hersey, PhD, Jeanette Renaud, PhD, Sarah E. Ray, MA, Shu Wen Ng, BS, and Jeff Niederdeppe, MA. Research Triangle Institute, 1615 M St. (Suite 740), Washington, DC 20036, 202/728-2486, hersey@rti.org
Background: This study investigated the characteristics of parents who smoke in order to identify potential strategies to encourage cessation.
Methods: This presentation compares the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of parents who smoke, parents who do not smoke, and smokers who are not parents. Data came from random telephone surveys of approximately 1,900 and 1,600 adults in two Midwestern states in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
Results: Findings suggest that parents who smoke are an important risk group, as well as an important target group for messages related to smoking cessation. Although this group expressed more interest than other smokers in quitting, they were not very successful in doing so. Smokers in general were more likely than non-smokers to be aware of the harmful effects of secondhand smoke on children. Parents who were aware of the effects of secondhand smoke were both more likely to attempt to quit and to be more successful in quitting. This suggests that conveying information about the risks of secondhand smoke to one’s self and to one’s children is an important step in encouraging cessation efforts.
Implications: This study highlights the value of messages regarding the harmful effects of secondhand smoke in influencing parents who smoke to ultimately quit.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Smoking Cessation, Family Involvement
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.