Maternal and child second hand smoke exposure: Expanding the message to family cessation

Since 2001, Mom's Quit Connection (MQC), a program of the Southern NJ Perinatal Cooperative, has provided perinatal smoking cessation and anti-tobacco education in NJ. Initially, the goal of MQC was to identify maternal smokers and treat them independently of their family. Although maternal smoking rates declined, MQC found that most of their clients lived with smokers. The Surgeon General's 2006 report concluded that there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure. Almost 3 million children in the US under the age of 6 breathe secondhand smoke at home at least 4 days per week. MQC indentified a need to treat the family as a whole to support cessation; decrease exposure to second hand smoke; and offer clinicians a platform to promote a smoke free message. MQC created a bi-lingual secondhand smoke campaign. Materials include a door hanger, bookmark and postcard.. The materials, distributed by MQC counselors, provide education about the hazards of second hand smoke and encourage the reader to seek cessation services. The materials were purposely created with a more positive message and visually pleasing in order to increase the likelihood of dissemination. Community programs and health professionals who have partnered with MQC in the past use these tools to encourage behavior change among their patients. Partners have found the door hanger; post card and bookmark provide them with a natural icebreaker when approaching the idea of including the family in a conversation about tobacco use and cessation services.