Parents worldwide are doing little to protect their
children from exposure to secondhand
smoke, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health.
Exposure to secondhand smoke has been extensively
shown to increase the risk for numerous
illnesses and premature death. The household study,
conducted in 31 countries, found that 82 percent
of parents who smoked reported smoking around their
children. Measurements of nicotine levels from
household air and children's hair samples also indicated
high exposure to secondhand smoke among
those living with a smoker. The study is among the first to
demonstrate that secondhand smoke is a
global concern, particularly for children. It was published
Feb. 28 in the online version of the
American Journal of Public Health and will appear in
the journal's April print edition.
According to the findings, concentrations of nicotine
in the air were 17 times higher in
households with a smoker compared to those without. Air
concentrations were 12.9 times higher in
households that permitted smoking indoors, compared to
those that voluntarily restricted indoor
smoking. Median air nicotine levels in households with
smokers were highest in Europe, followed by
Latin America and Asia.
Nicotine was detected in hair samples in 78 percent of
children living with a smoker and 59
percent of those who did not live with a smoker. In most
cases, hair nicotine levels were positively
correlated with nicotine air concentrations.
"Our research clearly shows that parents are failing
to protect their children from secondhand
smoke exposure, perhaps because they are unaware of the
risks," said lead author Heather Wipfli,
project director at the Bloomberg School's Institute for
Global Tobacco Control. "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, 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.
"Tobacco control should be considered as part of the
strategy for reducing child mortality,"
Semba said.
"Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Women and Children:
Evidence from 31 Countries" was
written by Wipfli, Erika Avila-Tang, Ana Navas-Acien,
Sungroul Kim, Georgiana Onicescu, Jie Yuan,
Patrick Breysse and Jonathan Samet. Support for the study
was provided by the Flight Attendants
Medical Research Institute and a Center of Excellence Award
to the Johns Hopkins Medical
Institutions. Support was also provided by the National
Institutes of Health through the Fogarty
International Center.
"Paternal Smoking and Increased Risk of Infant and
Under-5 Mortality in Indonesia" was
written by Semba, Saskia de Pee, Kai Sun, Cora M. Best,
Mayang Sari and Martin W. Bloem. The study
was supported by a Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award from
Research to Prevent Blindness to Semba.