A Cross-Sectional Study of Happiness and Smoking Cessation among Parents.
BACKGROUND
Smoking cessation among adults is associated with increased happiness. This association has not been measured in parents, a subset of adults who face uniquely stressful and challenging circumstances that can affect happiness.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if parental smoking cessation is associated with increased happiness and to identify characteristics of parental quitters who experience increased happiness.


METHODS
1355 parents completed a 12-month follow-up interview from a U.S. national trial, Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure (CEASE). Multivariable logistic regression examined if level of happiness was independently associated with quitting smoking and identified characteristics associated with feeling happier after quitting smoking.


RESULTS
Parents' level of happiness was independently associated with quitting smoking (aOR=1.60, 95% CI=1.42-1.79). Factors associated with increased happiness among quitters include engaging in evidence-based cessation assistance (aOR=2.69, 95% CI=1.16-6.26), and adopting strictly enforced smoke-free home (aOR=2.55, 95% CI=1.19-5.48) and car (aOR=3.85, 95% CI=1.94-7.63) policies. Additionally, parents who believed that being a smoker got in the way of being a parent (aOR=5.37, 95% CI=2.61-11.07) and who believed that thirdhand smoke is harmful to children (aOR=3.28, 95% CI=1.16-9.28) were more likely to report feeling happier after quitting.


CONCLUSIONS
Parents who quit smoking reported being happier than parents who did not quit. Though prospective studies can clarify what factors cause an increase in happiness, letting pediatricians know that most parents who smoke report being happier when quitting may facilitate communication with parents around cessation.


BACKGROUND
ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT00664261.
Center for Child and Adolescent Health Research and Policy, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, United States; Tobacco Research and Treatment Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.
Jeremy E
JE
Drehmer
Center for Child and Adolescent Health Research and Policy, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, United States; Tobacco Research and Treatment Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.
Bethany
B
Hipple
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States.
Deborah J
DJ
Ossip
Center for Child and Adolescent Health Research and Policy, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, United States; Tobacco Research and Treatment Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.
Emara
E
Nabi-Burza
Center for Child and Adolescent Health Research and Policy, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, United States; Tobacco Research and Treatment Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; AAP Richmond Center of Excellence, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL, United States.
Jonathan P
JP
Winickoff