Children's illness gives parents incentive to stop smoking - Brief Article

AORN Journal, April, 2003

Hospitalization of children with respiratory illnesses can provide health care workers an opportunity to approach parents about smoking cessation, according to a Jan 6, 2003, news release from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. Many of these children are exposed to secondhand smoke from parents' tobacco use. Health care workers often are hesitant to address smoking with parents of sick children because of the stress the parents are experiencing. Researchers found, however, that many parents were receptive to information about the harm secondhand smoke can cause their children and were willing to participate in a smoking cessation program.

During a four-month period, parents of children with respiratory illnesses who were admitted to Boston Children's Hospital were invited to participate in a program that offered a motivational interview, written information, free nicotine replacement therapy, telephone counseling, and referral to their own primary care physician. Of the 71 parents who enrolled in the study, 80% completed the counseling, and 56% accepted nicotine replacement therapy. After two months, 20% reported sustained tobacco abstinence. Although there was no control group, this rate of cessation was higher than the 2% to 3% cessation rate of US smokers per year. In addition, 27% of the parents reported they were still using nicotine replacement therapy, and 38% had consulted their primary care physician about smoking cessation. More than 75% of the parents reported that they found the program useful and believed it should be offered to others.

Child Hospitalizations Good Time to Get Parents to Stop Smoking (news release, Boston: Massachusetts General Hospital, Jan 6, 2003) http://www.massgeneral.org/news /releases/010603smoking.htm (accessed 24 Feb 2003).