Smoking transmission in-home across three generations

Abstract

Objective: This paper examines the transmission of smoking in-home across three generations in Spain.

Methods: Multilevel logistic regression is used to assess the significance and magnitude of intergenerational transmissions of smoking in-home. We use the survey data “Encuesta Estatal Sobre Uso De Drogas en Estudiantes de Enseñanzas Secundarias (ESTUDES)” corresponding to year 2010. This survey with 32 234 students constitutes a representative survey of Spanish students between 14 and 18 years of age.

Results: Estimates reported show a significant association of students’ smoking with mothers’ smoking (OR = 1.41; 95% CI = 1.31–1.51), fathers’ smoking (OR = 1.25; 95% CI = 1.16–1.35) and grandparents’ smoking (OR = 1.30; 95% CI = 1.07–1.57). Our results also suggest that, although mothers’ and parents’ smoking impacts sons’ and daughters’ smoking, grandparents’ smoking significantly increases grandsons’ smoking but does not influence granddaughters’ smoking.

Conclusions: Parents and grandparents could reduce adolescents’ smoking by quitting smoking themselves, a decision that would have beneficial effects for parents, grandparents and, indirectly, for adolescents.

• Adolescent
• family
• intergenerational transmission
• tobacco consumption

Declaration of interest

This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economics (Project ECO2012-34828). The usual disclaimers apply.