Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Secondhand smoke exposure in many countries decreased dramatically after the implementation of smoke-free legislation in public places, but the exposure at home did not change to the same degree. The aim of this study was to describe the status and correlates of a home smoking ban in Chongqing, China. METHODS: From June to August 2021, we selected two healthcare centers in the East, West, North, South and Middle regions of Chongqing. We investigated the family smoke-free situation in the selected region using a stratified random sampling method. A chi-squared test was performed to compare the totally and partially smoke-free homes, and a binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the correlates of smoke-free rules at home. RESULTS: The study investigated 2121 families, among which 884 (41.7%) implemented a total ban on smoking at home. The covariates included age (OR=1.54; 95% CI: 1.18-2.01), living with children aged <14 years (OR=1.51; 95% CI: 1.20-1.90), no smokers in the family (OR=2.37; 95% CI: 1.78-3.17), awareness of the hazards of secondhand smoke (OR=1.30; 95% CI: 1.07-1.59), worrying about the impact of smoking in the presence of children on health (OR=1.92; 95% CI: 1.25-2.95), no difficulty (OR=1.34; 95% CI: 1.07-1.67) and confidence (OR=1.73; 95% CI: 1.41-2.13) in stopping others from smoking, no smoking rules in cars (OR=3.67; 95% CI: 2.58-5.22), and frequency of entertaining guests with cigarettes (OR=0.41; 95% CI: 0.28-0.59). CONCLUSIONS: It is common for households in Chongqing to have smoking bans, especially those with children. If a family has members that are smokers, education researchers should pay more attention to the hazards of secondhand smoke on the health of family members, and to adopt more tobacco control measures and enhance the self-efficacy of implementing a home smoking ban. Helping smokers to quit is a vital way to decrease the hazards of cigarettes.