Secondhand Smoke Is a Killer for Kids

ByABC News
June 27, 2006, 5:15 PM

June 27, 2006 — -- Secondhand smoke is more deadly than previously believed -- and it's especially harmful to children.

A new report from the U.S. surgeon general states there is no such thing as a safe level of exposure to cigarette smoke.

The only real protection is to eliminate all indoor exposure, and ventilation systems and popular air purifiers don't do the trick.

The report -- the "Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke" -- comes at a time when an estimated 15 million American children are exposed regularly to secondhand smoke, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

"The news is bad," said Dr. Michael Cummings, chairman of the Department of Health Behavior at the Roswell Park Cancer Center in Buffalo, N.Y. "Young children take in a bigger dose of smoke with every breath and, as a result, suffer more health problems."

Because young bodies are still developing, especially the lungs, the effects of the many poisons contained in cigarette smoke can be devastating to a child's growth and development, experts said.

This regular exposure leads to higher rates of asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and ear infections. And it takes longer to recover from these illnesses.

"Studies have shown a child sent home after being treated for asthma will generally recover within about a week," said Dr. Christopher Randolph, a pediatric allergist and immunologist at Yale University. "But a child exposed to secondhand smoke at home can take up to a month or longer to recover."

The challenge is knowing which kids are getting ill as a result of secondhand smoke.

"We can't be entirely sure that a child's respiratory problems are the result of secondhand smoke," said Randolph. "It's really just a hunch. It's based on clinical suspicion.