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Smokers who do not quit can nevertheless learn to reduce secondhand smoke exposure to young children in their homes, Dana-Farber researchers concluded in a published study.
Adult smokers participating in Project KISS (Keeping Infants Safe from Smoke) who underwent counseling and received feedback about nicotine levels in their homes were able to decrease by about one-third the smoke to which children living with them were exposed.
Karen Emmons, PhD
Lead author Karen Emmons, PhD, said the study was the first to yield objective evidence that an effort to reduce secondhand smoke exposure in healthy children could be successful.
"We think a 30 percent reduction in exposure is quite meaningful," says Emmons, deputy director of DFCI's Center for Community-Based Research.
Exposure to secondhand smoke has been shown to increase the risk of ear infections, asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia in children. Nearly four in 10 children under age 5 in the United States live with a smoker, according to Emmons, yet there have been few studies of ways to protect youngsters from this common health hazard.
Project KISS focused on low-income parents of young children because that socioeconomic group has the highest rate of smoking. The study involved 291 parents or caregivers of children younger than 3 years old identified through community health centers in Boston and Providence, R.I.
The study was reported in the Journal Pediatrics.
