Understanding Tobacco Use, Exposure, and Solution Through the Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure Intervention

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Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure has been linked to adverse health effects among children: children exposed to smoke in the home or car are more likely to experience ear and respiratory infections, asthma exacerbations, compromised lung function, and sudden infant death syndrome (Gashaw, Teshita, & Getachew, 2016; A surgeon general report, 2014). While there has been an overall reduction in rates of smoking among U.S. adults, children continue to be voluntarily exposed to tobacco smoke (Berman et al., 2003; Jamal et al., 2007). Children from lower socioeconomic and rural backgrounds are at higher risk of SHS (Singh, Siahpush, & Kogan, 2007).Purpose: In order to understand how to best tailor a clinic based smoking cessation intervention for low income patients living in the rural South, we examined smoking behavior and smoking rules in households with and without children.