[Smoking during pregnancy: trends between 2001 and 2010]. / Roken tijdens de zwangerschap: trends in de periode 2001-2010.

OBJECTIVE: To establish trends in the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy between 2001 and 2010 and to relate these to differences in educational gradient in the Netherlands. DESIGN: National surveys. METHOD: In 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2010, 28,720 questionnaires were handed out to mothers with infants aged up to 6 months at periodic check-ups at well baby clinics. A total of 16,358 (57%) mothers completed this questionnaire. RESULTS: Between 2001 and 2010, the number of women who smoked daily during their pregnancy dropped by half. In 2010 6.3% (95% CI: 5.0-7.6) smoked. The prevalence of smoking was highest among mothers with a low level of education (13.8% in 2010; 95% CI 9.3-18.4%) and lowest among mothers with a high level of education (2.4% in 2010; 95% CI 1.2-3.6). Four percent of pregnant smokers stopped smoking during pregnancy. Women limited the median number of ten cigarettes per day during the six months prior to pregnancy to five per day during pregnancy. The difference in prevalence of smoking in pregnancy between women with a low level of education and those with a high level of education was 18.9% in 2001 and 11.4% in 2010. The difference in smoking prevalence between mothers with an average level of education and mothers with a higher level education was 6.5% in 2001 and 5.4% in 2010. CONCLUSION: Between 2001 and 2010, the percentage of women who smoked throughout pregnancy dropped by half. In 2010, 6.3% of Dutch pregnant women were still smoking. The prevalence of smoking differed strongly between different levels of education and this difference did not change during the study.

[Passive smoking in young children in the Netherlands sharply decreased since 1996]. / Meeroken door kinderen in Nederland sinds 1996 sterk gedaald.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of passive smoking in young children and to analyse the trends in the prevalence of passive smoking in young children over time. DESIGN: Retrospective, descriptive. METHOD: Data were derived from yearly samples of 500 to 800 adults living with children aged 0-4 years, who had completed a questionnaire on passive smoking and on several background characteristics. Data from 1996-2009 were analysed for trends in the prevalence of passive smoking and the relationship with characteristics such as smoking habits and socioeconomic status (SES). RESULTS: The percentage of families with young children (0-4 years) reporting smoking at home decreased sharply, from 64 in 1996 to 19 in 2009. Passive smoking sharply decreased as well. The prevalence of smoking at home in the presence of children was 10% in 2009 versus 48% in 1996. After the implementation of the smoking ban in hotels, restaurants and pubs in 2008 a sharper decrease in passive smoking at home was found than in the preceding years, except for the families with a lower SES. Passive smoking still occurs in 14% of families with children aged 2-4, in 29% of the families with a lower SES and in 22% of the families with smokers. Nearly 40% of the heavy smokers still expose their child to tobacco smoke at home. CONCLUSION: There is a distinct decrease in passive smoking at home in young children. In spite of this, there still are some groups of children that are regularly exposed to tobacco smoke. Preventive programs should be optimized to continue the decrease in passive smoking in these groups.