Second hand smoke (SHS) exposure in children. An evaluation of a preventative measure [Exposição das crianças ao fumo ambiental do tabaco (FAT). Avaliação de uma intervenção preventiva]

Aims: to evaluate the effectiveness of the preventative programme smoke-free homes undertaken in 4th year children and their parents or guardians,aiming to reduce children's exposure to second hand smoke (shs) in the home. material and methods: this was a pre- and post-test pre-experimental study,in students from 32 braga district primary schools 2007/08. a self-administered and structured questionnaire was given out to 795 students in the classroom before and after the programme. in analysing data,we used the chi-squared test for the categorical variables. results: the rate of children exposed to regular or occasional shs due to living with at least one smoker dropped from 42.2% to 32.6% (p=0.001). the percentage of students,children of smokers who stated that their father smoked regularly or occasionally at home,dropped from 68.0% pre-test to 51.6% post-test (p=0.000). no significant reduction was seen in mothers. conclusion: based on the data,we can conclude that the smoke-free homes programme was effective in preventing smoking in the home,and therefore reducing the rate of children exposed to shs by about 10%. however,it appears that about a third of children are still exposed,which highlights the need for further measures in this area. healthcare professionals,particularly those working in paediatrics,should advise parents to quit smoking,especially in the home.