The numbers of pregnant women smoking has dropped by one third, according to a new study on smoking trends in the Republic and Northern Ireland.
The proportion of 10- to 17-year-olds in the Republic who admitted to smoking has also dropped from 36 per cent to 27 per cent, according to the Tobacco Free Future study published yesterday.
"Many trends emerging from our research are encouraging but children are still trying their first cigarette at a very young age," said Dr Helen McAvoy from the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, co-authors of the study with the Tobacco Free Research Institute of Ireland.
Dr McAvoy attributed the reduction in pregnant women who smoke and the reduced number of teenagers who admit to smoking to a range of tobacco controls such as smoke-free workplaces, regulation of vending machines, packet size and removal of point-of-sale displays.
However, many children remain exposed to second-hand smoke. The study found that about 20 per cent of nine-year-old children live in a home where people smoke in the same room as them. One in seven 13- to 14-year-olds said someone smokes in the car when they are present.
Disadvantaged families
Researchers also found children from disadvantaged families are more likely to live in households with smoking adults and are at greater risk of exposure to second-hand smoke. "These children are more likely to be exposed to smoke in the womb, second-hand smoke in the home, and ultimately to taking up smoking at a young age," said Dr McAvoy.
The negative impact that parental smoking behaviour has on children's health and development was stressed by Prof Luke Clancy from the Tobacco Free Research Institute of Ireland.
“Smoking in pregnancy is associated with low birthweight babies, and GP attendances for chest and ear infections in infants are higher amongst mothers who smoke in the first nine months of the child’s life,” he said. Active smoking and second-hand smoke are also factors in childhood asthma.
