Study Shows That Parents Ignore The Risk Of Secondhand Smoke Exposure For Children

A new study by researchers at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that parents are doing little to protect their children from exposure to secondhand smoke.

A household study, conducted in 31 countries, found that 82 percent of parents who smoked reported smoking around their children.

The study, published in the April edition of the American Journal of Public Health found that the measurements of nicotine levels from household air and children's hair samples indicated high levels of exposure to secondhand smoke amongst those living with a smoker. The study is among the first to demonstrate that childhood exposure to secondhand smoke is a global concern.

Heather Wipfli, PhD, project director at the Bloomberg School's Institute for Global Tobacco Control said, "Our research clearly shows that parents are failing to protect their children from secondhand smoke exposure, perhaps because they are unaware of the risks. The results highlight the need to improve public awareness of the importance of going outside to smoke to limit the exposure to children living in the home."

A related study, also published in the American Journal of Public Health, concluded that paternal smoking diverts money from basic necessities to cigarettes, putting children at greater risk for chronic malnutrition. Richard Semba, MD, MPH, a professor with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and his colleagues found that paternal smoking was associated with increased mortality among infants and children under age 5 in Indonesia.

Semba said, "Tobacco control should be considered as part of the strategy for reducing child mortality."