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Smoking is rank! But, not as rank as other drugs and bullying say New Zealand parents of pre‐adolescent children
Author(s) -
Glover Marewa,
Kira Anette,
Min Sandar,
Scragg Robert,
Nosa Vili,
McCool Judith,
Bullen Chris
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
health promotion journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 2201-1617
pISSN - 1036-1073
DOI - 10.1071/he11223
Subject(s) - medicine , environmental health , population , indigenous , population health , psychiatry , demography , ecology , sociology , biology
Issue addressed Despite the established risks associated with smoking, 21% of New Zealand adults smoke. Prevalence among Mori (indigenous) and Pacific Island New Zealanders is disproportionately high. Prevention of smoking initiation is a key component of tobacco control. Keeping Kids Smokefree – a quasi‐experimental trial – aimed to do this by changing parental smoking behaviour and attitudes. However, little is known about parents' attitudes to smoking in comparison with other concerns. Method Parents of 4,144 children attending five urban schools in a high smoking prevalence population in Auckland, New Zealand, were asked to rank seven concerns on a paper‐based questionnaire, including smoking, alcohol and bullying, from most to least serious. Results Methamphetamine and other illicit ‘hard’ drugs were ranked as most serious followed by marijuana smoking, alcohol drinking, bullying, cigarette smoking, sex and obesity. Never smokers ranked cigarette smoking as more serious than current or ex‐smokers. Conclusion Parents' under‐estimation of the serious nature of tobacco smoking relative to other drugs could partly explain low participation rates in parent‐focused smoking initiation prevention programs. So what? This study contributes to more effective smoking prevention by providing insight into how pre‐adolescents' parents rank smoking in comparison to other health concerns. If parents perceive bullying, alcohol and illegal drugs to be a greater threat to their child than tobacco smoking, they may be less inclined to focus attention on preventing their children from taking up smoking. The parents themselves may also be less likely to quit smoking.