Children’s residential exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the Nordic countries

Five thousand parents of children born in 1992 in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden were asked about their smoking behaviour while indoors with their children. The prevalence of daily smoking was 20% among fathers, 15% among married or cohabiting mothers and 47% among single mothers. Both parents reported smoking daily in 7% of the households, while one parent smoked in 22% of the households. The prevalence of smoking varied with social group. Rules to limit smoking indoors had been introduced in 75% of the households, and 82% of the current smokers had tried to change their smoking habits for the sake of their children. Of the parents who had smoked at the beginning of the pregnancy, 77% reported having changed their habits during the pregnancy, but the changes were far less pronounced among expecting fathers than among expecting mothers. In 25% of the households, children were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke at home during the week. In households where at least one parent smoked, 57% reported that children were present when someone smoked.