BACKGROUND: Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) contribute to numerous health problems, including heart disease and certain types of respiratory diseases and cancers. We examined factors associated with adoption of smoke-free rules at home among adults who work outside their home in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries.
METHODS: We analyzed Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) data collected between 2012-2021 in 10 African countries. Smoke-free rule at home was defined as any rules that do not allow smoking inside the home among adults who work outside their home. The analytic sample size ranged from 630 in Tanzania to 3289 in Ethiopia. Response rate ranged from 80.0% in Botswana to 97.0% in Senegal. Descriptive and multivariable logistic regression were conducted to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (aOR), accounting for covariates such as gender, age group, marital status, employment type, education status, residence, workplace smokefree policy and smoking status.
RESULTS: The prevalence of smoke-free rules at home ranged from 60.2% (95% CI: 56.0%,64.3%) in Mauritania to 85.9% (95% CI: 83.2%, 88.3%) in Nigeria. Smoke-free rules at home were associated with being aged 15-24 years old (45 years and above) in Uganda, Nigeria, and Senegal (aOR ranging from 0.36 to 2.64). Other associated factors in select countries was being a non-government/private employee (Uganda aOR=3.37), married ( aOR of 1.98 in Cameroon and 0.44 in Tanzania), and urban residence (aOR ranging from 1.77 to 2.13). For all countries, workplace smoke-free policy was significantly associated with smoke-free rules at home, with aOR ranging from 1.77 (95% CI: 1.05,2.97) in South Africa to 13.4 (95% CI: 8.86, 20.02) in Ethiopia.
CONCLUSIONS: Factors associated with smoke-free rules at home varied across the countries examined. We found significant associations between smoke-free workplace policy and smoke-free rules at home across countries examined. Smoke-free workplaces policies can encourage individuals to adopt smoke-free rules at home.