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In this article we explore the micro-social context of parental tobacco use in the first years of a child's life and early childhood. We conducted individual interviews with 28 mothers and fathers during the 4 years following the birth of their child. Using grounded theory methods, we identified the predominant explanatory concept in parents' accounts as the need to reconcile being a parent and smoking. Desires to become smoke-free coexisted with five types of parent-child interactions: (a) protecting the defenseless child, (b) concealing smoking and cigarettes from the mimicking child, (c) reinforcing smoking as bad with the communicative child, (d) making guilt-driven promises to the fearful child, and (e) relinquishing personal responsibility to the autonomous child. We examine the agency of the child in influencing parents' smoking practices, the importance of children's observational learning in the early years, and the reciprocal nature of parent-child interactions related to parents' smoking behavior.

Background: Although researchers have focused on women's smoking during pregnancy and the postpartum period and the influence of household interactions on their tobacco reduction efforts, little attention has been given to parents' efforts to regulate smoking during the child-rearing years. The objective of this study was to examine how parenting young children and gender relations reflected in couple dynamics influence household tobacco use patterns and, specifically, women's tobacco reduction efforts., Methods: As part of a longitudinal, grounded-theory study with 28 couples to examine the place of tobacco in the lives of new parents, each parent participated in one or two individual, semi-structured interviews during the first three years postpartum. Grounded theory methods and a gender relations framework were used to analyze transcribed data., Results: Two different parenting styles that couples adhered to were identified. These parenting styles reflected performances of femininities and masculinities, and were associated with particular smoking patterns. Traditional parenting reinforced by women's alignment with emphasized femininities and men's alignment with hegemonic masculinities placed women with smoking partners at risk for relapse. Women's actions to be supportive partners facilitated couples' continued smoking. In shared parenting dyads, egalitarian practices tended to support successful transitions to smoke-free homes. Women's ability to exert more influence around family decision making, and the acceptance of new masculine identities associated with fatherhood were influential. In non-smoking dyads where the mother, father, or both reduced or stopped smoking, we observed a subtext of potential conflict in the event either the mother or father relapsed., Conclusions: Decisions about tobacco use are made within relationships and social contexts that vary based on each individual's relationship to tobacco, divisions of domestic labour and childcare, and other activities that impact tobacco use. Sensitive approaches to tobacco reduction for women and men must be developed building on greater understanding of gender relations and how tobacco use is integrated in spousal and parental roles.

To further understand men's continued smoking during their partner's pregnancy and the postpartum period, a study was undertaken to explore women's perspectives of men's smoking. Using a gender lens, a thematic analysis of transcribed interviews with 27 women was completed. Women's constructions of men's smoking and linkages to masculine and feminine ideals are described. The findings highlight the ways women position themselves both as defenders and regulators of men's smoking. Femininities that aligned women with hegemonic masculine principles underpinned their roles in relation to men's smoking and presented challenges in influencing their partner's tobacco reduction. By positioning the decision to quit smoking as a man's solitary pursuit, women reduced potential relationship conflict and managed to maintain their identity as a supportive partner. Insights from this study provide direction for developing gender-specific tobacco reduction initiatives targeting expectant and new fathers. Indeed, a lack of intervention aimed at encouraging men's tobacco reduction has the potential to increase relationship tensions, and inadvertently maintain pressure on women to regulate fathers' smoking. This study illustrates how gender-based analyses can provide new directions for men's health promotion programmes and policies.