SECONDHAND SMOKE AND CHILDREN
Fact Sheet (April, 1999)
Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of
a cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers.
Secondhand smoke is estimated to cause 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually
and 37,000 heart disease deaths in non-smokers each year.
Children are especially susceptible: their lungs are still developing and
childhood exposure to secondhand smoke results in decreased lung function.
Children who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to develop asthma,
the leading serious chronic childhood disease in the US.
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9-12 million American children under age 5 are exposed to secondhand smoke
in the home; 43 percent of American children aged 2 months to 11 years live
in a home with at least one smoker.
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Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the severity and frequency of asthma
episodes; 200,000 to 1,000,000 asthmatic children with asthma have experienced
aggravated symptoms.
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From 1982 to 1995 the prevalence of pediatric asthma has increased by 86.8
percent.
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Asthma accounts for approximately 17 percent of all pediatric emergency visits
in the US.
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Exposure to secondhand smoke causes 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory
tract infections (pneumonia and bronchitis) annually in children 18 months
and younger; these infections result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations
each year.
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Secondhand smoke exposure causes buildup of fluid in the middle ear, resulting
in 700,000 to 1.6 million physician office visits. Middle ear infections
are the most common cause of childhood operations and of childhood hearing
loss.
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A California EPA study estimated 1,900 to 2,700 sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS) deaths annually associated with secondhand smoke exposure.
For more information call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA
(1-800-586- 4872), or visit our web site at
http://www.lungusa.org.
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