Smoke-Free Legislation in Spain and Prematurity

Lorena Simón1, Roberto Pastor-Barriuso1,2, Elena Boldo1,2,3

  • 1National Centre for Epidemiology and.

Pediatrics
|June 1, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Spain's smoking bans significantly reduced adverse birth outcomes. The comprehensive ban lowered preterm births and low birth weight, while the partial ban decreased small for gestational age infants, improving perinatal health.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology
  • Reproductive Health

Background:

  • Spain enacted a partial smoking ban in 2006 and a comprehensive ban in 2011.
  • These policies aimed to reduce public exposure to secondhand smoke.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between Spain's smoke-free policies and perinatal complications.
  • To assess the impact of partial and comprehensive smoking bans on adverse birth outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study analyzed live births from 2000 to 2013.
  • Adverse outcomes included preterm birth, small for gestational age (SGA), and low birth weight.
  • Overdispersed Poisson models assessed rate changes, adjusting for sociodemographic and health factors.

Main Results:

  • The comprehensive ban correlated with immediate and 1-year reductions in preterm birth rates (4.5% and 4.1%).
  • Low birth weight rates decreased immediately (2.3%) and at 1 year (3.5%) post-comprehensive ban.
  • The partial ban showed an immediate reduction in SGA rates (4.9%), sustained at 1 year.

Conclusions:

  • Spanish smoke-free policies are linked to reduced risks of preterm birth and low birth weight.
  • The comprehensive smoking ban demonstrated a more significant impact on reducing adverse perinatal outcomes.
Abstract

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