Objective: To study home-based sources of tobacco and associated family factors among Finnish adolescents.
Methods: Nationwide surveys (1999, 2003, 2007) of 14-16-year-old daily (n=2355), occasional (n=708), and experimental (n=2763) smokers. The main outcome measure was home-based sourcing of tobacco (parents, siblings, taking from home) during the past month. Logistic regression was used for statistical analysis.
Results: Home-based sources were used by 44% of daily, 11% of occasional, and 9% of experimental smokers; other social sources by 93%, 65%, and 51%; and commercial sources by 70%, 28%, and 10% respectively. Among daily smokers, home sources meant siblings (24%), parents (19%), and taking from home (19%). Parental smoking and absence of a home-smoking ban increased home-based sourcing. The odds ratio (OR) for obtaining tobacco from any home-based source was 6.96 (95% CI: 3.75-12.91) and from parents 7.44 (2.68-20.65) when both parents smoked versus nonsmoking parents. In the absence of a home-smoking ban, corresponding ORs were 2.21 (1.28-3.81) and 21.33 (2.84-60.30) versus those reporting having a ban. Obtaining tobacco from parents was more common in single-parent/reconstituted families than in families with two biological parents.
Conclusions: Parents should be provided with guidance about the consequences of home-based sourcing in the persistence of children's smoking habit.