Child exposure testing to help parents stop smoking
Assessment of Biomarkers in Children to Help Parents Quit Tobacco
This project uses tests of children’s tobacco exposure to help parents who smoke get extra support to quit.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11117129 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Your child would have a small test (for example saliva or a tiny blood sample) to measure tobacco exposure, and those results would be shared with your pediatrician and you. Parents who smoke would be randomly assigned to receive quitting help guided by the child’s biomarker results (including nicotine replacement and quitline referrals) or the clinic’s usual care. The team will follow families over time to see if parents are more likely to stop smoking and if children’s exposure goes down. The aim is to make it easier for pediatric clinics to identify and help parents who smoke.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Parents who currently smoke and bring children aged 0–11 to participating pediatric clinics, and who agree to brief biochemical testing of their child, are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People without young children, parents who do not smoke, or families unwilling to have their child provide a small sample are unlikely to benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, more parents may quit smoking, reducing children’s exposure and improving family health.
How similar studies have performed: Previous clinic-based programs like CEASE have helped parents quit, but using children’s exposure biomarkers to guide parental quitting is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Winickoff, Jonathan P — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Winickoff, Jonathan P
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.