Seven out of ten homes in Europe are smoke-free, according to research in twelve European countries, published in the European Lung Association’s journal ERJ Open Research.

Greece occupies the last position, as it was found that the smoking allowed in more than half of the homes.

A smoke-free home was defined as one in which smoking was not permitted indoors (balconies and other outdoor spaces were excluded from the definition).

It was found that about 70% of all respondents do not allow smoking in their home.

An additional 18% said they have some rules, but do not completely ban smoking.

England scores the highest of the twelve countries, where more than eight out of ten homes are smoke-free (84.5%). This is followed by Ireland (79.4%), Latvia (78.9%), Italy (75.8%) and Germany (75%).

In the middle of the list are Portugal (74%), Poland (69.6%) and France (65.1%). By contrast, in Spain, Bulgaria and Romania more than four out of ten homes allow smoking.

In last place is Greece, where the percentage of homes where smoking is not allowed is below average (44.4%).

“Northern European countries have more smoke-free homes, while eastern Europe and less affluent countries have more homes that have some smoking rules, allowing smoking in certain areas or in certain situations,” observes the study leader, Olena Tigova, from the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Barcelona.

Among people who smokethe percentage of smoke-free homes averages 37.3% and ranges from: 25% in Spain to 54.8% in Latvia.

Of interest is the finding that about 13% of non-smoking homes still allow guests to smoke.

Among non-smokers, 81.7% report having a smoke-free home, with the lowest percentage being in Greece (51.4%) and the highest in England (92.9%).

In households where only non-smokers live, the percentage of smoke-free homes is 87.3% and ranges from 60.1% in Greece to 96.4% in Portugal.

Other factors

The researchers also looked at other factors that appear to influence home smoking rules.

They found that the women, the elderly, people with a higher level of education and those living with children are more likely to have smoke-free homes.

The researchers point out that the proportion of smoke-free homes in Europe is increasing by around 1% each year. But as progress is very slow, more work is needed to protect children and adults from the health effects of secondhand smoke, such as stricter tobacco control measures.

“Extending smoke-free laws to workplaces, public places and some private spaces such as cars, combined with new strategies to reduce smoking at home, will help make more European homes smoke-free sooner”, observes Ms. Tigova.

It is noted that from Greece, the Hellenic Cancer Society participated in the research with the research team of Professor Panagiotis Behrakis.