Introduction:

Pediatric population is the most vulnerable to secondhand smoke (SHS), exposure being households the main source of exposure in children. The objective of this study is to describe smoke-free households and the prevalence of SHS in the pediatric population (from 3 to 36 months) in Spain.

Methods:

Cross-sectional study with 1,368 parents, mothers or guardians with children from 3 to 36 months carried out in Spain from March to November of 2017 through an online questionnaire as part of the EPISON study. Information was collected on the voluntary adoption of tobacco use regulations at home and SHS exposure at home and other environments. We calculated prevalences and Odds Ratio adjusted (ORa) for sex, age, level of education, and smoking status.

Results:

87.6% of respondents claimed to have a smoke-free home. 12.4% of respondents had partial regulation or did not have regulation at home, increasing up to 26.0% when the parent was a smoker or to 21.8% when the parent had primary or lower education. 5.4% of parents reported SHS exposure in their children at their homes, rising to 14.5% when it occurs in other environments, increasing with statistically significant differences between smoking parents and parents with lower educational level.

Conclusion:

The smoke-free homes are the majority; but SHS exposure to tobacco at home persists in children under 3 years of age, especially in families with a lower educational level. Therefore, awareness-raising campaigns on the effects of passive exposure on minors among families with a lower socioeconomic status should be encouraged.

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