title: Smoking practices and risk awareness in parents regarding passive smoke exposure of their preschool children: a cross-sectional study in Tehran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Young children living with parents who smoke are exposed to unacceptable health hazards.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine patterns of parental smoking, the level of parental awareness about hazards of secondhand smoke, and the effect of risk awareness on smoking behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  Health centers affiliated with two teaching hospitals in Tehran.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data was collected from parents of preschool children visiting the health centers, through face-to-face interview, during a period of 18 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data was analyzed by multiple logistic regression, and analysis of variance was done for comparison of means.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a total of 647 families, prevalence of parental smoking was 35.7%, (231 families). In 97.8% of smoking families, only the fathers smoked; and in 5 (2.2%) families, both parents were regular smokers. Prevalence of smoking was higher in poor families as compared with families who were well-off (39% vs. 25%; P = 0.025), and also in families with lower educational level. There was no significant difference in risk awareness between smokers and nonsmokers (P > .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low socioeconomic status and low education were identified as risk factors for children's exposure to secondhand smoke; parental risk awareness had no apparent effect on the smoking behavior. Unlike western societies, fathers were the sole habitual smokers in most families. Since factors that influence smoking behavior vary in different cultures, interventional strategies that aim to protect children from the hazards of tobacco smoke need to target diverse issues in different ethnic backgrounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Taleghani Medical Center, Shahid Beheshti Medical University, Tehran, Iran. shivahfa@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Farideh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shiva
authors.forename: Mojgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Padyab
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution