Background: Many children are exposed to ETS (environmental tobacco smoke), which has both immediate and long-term adverse health effects. The aim was to determine the prevalence and nature of smoking among parents with infants and the association of indoor or outdoor smoking with the health of their children.
Methods: Mail-questionnaire study, which was performed in a county in the south-east of Sweden, as a retrospective cross-sectional survey including 1990 children, 12-24 months old.
Results: 20% of the children had at least one smoking parent; 7% had parents who smoked indoors and 13% parents who smoked only outdoors. Indoor smoking was most prevalent among single and blue-collar working parents. In the case of smoking cessation during pregnancy, smoking was usually resumed after delivery or at the end of the breast-feeding period. Coughing more than two weeks after a URI (upper respiratory infection), wheezing without a URI as well as pooled respiratory symptoms differed significantly between children of non-smokers and indoor smokers.
Conclusion: Further research of the common belief that outdoor smoking is sufficient to protect infants from health effects due to ETS exposure is warranted.