Characteristics influencing compliance to a home smoking ban among Texas households with asthmatic children

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure has been linked to the prevalence of asthma in children. Voluntary home smoking bans have been shown to significantly reduce ETS exposure. The objective of this study is to assess household characteristics that predict adult compliance to a home smoking ban among Texas households (HHs) with children. The data from the 2004 Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Survey was used. The analyses are restricted to HHs with children (n=2,581). Of these households, 6% (n=141) reported at least one child had ever suffered from asthma but was not currently diagnosed with asthma, 14% (n=327) reported at least one child currently suffering from asthma, and the remaining HHs reported no asthmatic children (80.6%). Nearly 1 in every 5 HHs, regardless of the presence (n=85) or absence (n=330) of asthmatic children, did not have a home smoking ban policy or allowed smoking in some areas of the home. Among HHs indicating the presence of current/ever asthmatic children, 1 in 4 adults (n=121) were current smokers compared to 1 in 5 (n=354) adults with no asthmatic children. Bivariate associations will be tested using crosstabulations with c² option. Logistic regression analyses will be conducted with smoking ban (yes/no) as the outcome variable and sociodemographics and adult's perception of ETS harmfulness as independent predictors. We hypothesize that perception of ETS harmfulness will be a significant predictor. Findings of this study will have important implications for future interventions in promoting home smoking bans to reduce the burden of asthma among Texas children.