Single mums smoke more

Melbourne, Sep. 9 (ANI): Single mums are said to be smoking two-and-a-half times more than women who are married or partnered, with some thinking that having a cigarette is a way to have a short break from their kids and to relieve them of stress.

However, the reasons why single mothers smoke in such great numbers compared with other women remains unclear.

Even when socio-economic factors such as low income, poor education and geographic location are taken into account, they are still smoking at twice the rate of other women.

According to the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, more than a third of single mothers, or 34 percent, smoke.

This compares with just 13 percent of partnered women, under 65, who have dependent children.

Overall, 16 percent of the adult female population smokes.

Despite smoking rates for all women declining over the past decade, the smoking gap between single mothers and partnered mothers has widened.

In noting this disparity, Associate Professor Roger Wilkins, the principal research fellow and deputy director of the HILDA Survey, guessed it was because they think of single mothers as being young, less educated, living in regional or outlying areas, and enjoying less income, which are factors associated with higher smoking rates.

"But, when I take out the effect of all those things, it doesn't eliminate the gap," he said.

"Even if single mothers were the same as partnered mothers, with education and income and age and where they live, they still have a smoking rate twice as high," he added. (ANI)