Padmawati, R. S., Prabandari, Y. S., Istiyani, T., Nichter, M., & Nichter, M. (2018). Establishing a community-based smoke-free homes movement in Indonesia. Tobacco prevention & cessation, 4.
The study was conducted in Yogyakarta and discussed the development and application of community-based smoke-free home (SFH) interventions that seek to make SFH the new social norm.The background of this study is the situation in Indonesia as a country that has one of the highest rates of male smoking in the world (67%) and second-hand smoke (SHS) occurs in more than 70% of households. But unfortunately, there are still a few studies that investigate public awareness of the dangers of second-hand smoke (SHS) and efforts to implement a smoke-free house (SFH) policy.
A proof-of-concept study confirms the feasibility of constructing a community-based SFH initiative in an urban environment. Educational materials and interventions of SFH policy were developed and tested beforehand. An intervention was piloted and evaluated in the homes of 296 smokers in 4 communities. Health educators and public health volunteers are trained to implement the SFH policy.
The results of this study indicate that the smoke-free home (SFH) policy intervention can reduce the number of smokers who smoke in the home and minimize the negative effects of secondhand smoke (SHS) in households. Before the intervention, 11% of smokers did not smoke in the home and after the intervention, 54% of smokers did not smoke in the home. The Yogyakarta District Health Office has supported the implementation of smoke-free houses on a large scale. To date, 135 urban communities have declared themselves to apply the SFH policy.
This study is the first community-based SFH initiative to be implemented in Southeast Asia. The results of this study show that the SFH movement redefined smoking cessation as a health issue for women and children, linked the family well-being to core cultural values, and the role of women in tobacco control. Based on the results of this study it can be concluded that the sustainability of SFH in Yogyakarta could be achieved by working closely with various levels of government stakeholders and might lead to changes in tobacco control policy in Indonesia.