Impact of Pediatrician Intervention on the Smoking Habits of Parents of Sick Children

Overview

Reducing tobacco consumption is a major public health objective, with the prevalence of active smoking estimated in 2017 at 26.9% of the French population aged 18 to 25. The negative impact of passive smoking on children's health and development has been demonstrated by numerous studies, especially with regard to respiratory pathologies. Parental smoking is also a risk factor for active smoking in adolescence and adulthood (with an odds ratio of 1.72 if at least one of the two parents is a smoker). It has been shown that intervention with parents can reduce the number of children exposed to passive parental smoking by about 5%.

Reducing tobacco consumption is a major public health objective, with the prevalence of active smoking estimated in 2017 at 26.9% of the French population aged 18 to 25. The negative impact of passive smoking on children's health and development has been demonstrated by numerous studies, especially with regard to respiratory pathologies. Parental smoking is also a risk factor for active smoking in adolescence and adulthood (with an odds ratio of 1.72 if at least one of the two parents is a smoker). It has been shown that intervention with parents can reduce the number of children exposed to passive parental smoking by about 5%. The paediatrician's role is therefore to try to make parents aware of the consequences of tobacco consumption on their children's health and to encourage them to stop smoking. Minimal advice (simple, clear, written and oral information on the actors and means of helping to stop smoking) is the first step in triggering an attempt to stop smoking. The paediatrician seems to be a particularly influential actor since he intervenes at a time when parents are trying to improve their child's health. The minimum advice would have an effectiveness of 2-5% on smoking cessation in general. There is no data on the impact of this minimum advice when given by paediatricians. There are also no data on the current prevalence of smoking in France among parents of children with various chronic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis or diabetes. It is also necessary to describe the smoking habits of parents, as children's exposure and its impact on their health depends in particular on where their parents smoke.