If you want a safe, smoke-free environment for your children it's best to quit smoking..

June 18, 2008 - An Australian study (K. Rumchev et al., How free of tobacco smoke are 'smoke-free' homes?, Indoor Air: 18(3): 202-208, June 2008) suggests that levels of respirable suspended particles, including nicotine, were significantly higher in houses where smokers lived than in smoke-free homes - even if they only smoked outside. Researchers measured nicotine and respirable particles over 24 hours in the living rooms of 92 Perth households with children aged between four and nine years old. Although 39 houses (42%) had smokers, only 4% said smoking occurred inside. Levels were low in homes without smokers and considerably higher in houses where smoking was reported. Half of the children in the study had lower respiratory symptoms, such as asthma, wheezing and shortness of breath, while 42% had upper respiratory symptoms, including coughing and runny nose. Respiratory illness was more prevalent in households with smokers than smoke-free homes. Children exposed to higher air nicotine levels were three times more likely to have asthma or wheeze than those not exposed. It is interesting to note that the prevalence of asthma in Australia is among the highest in the world: between 14% and 16% of children and between 10% and 12% of adults have asthma. References: Outdoor smoking affects children indoors, Helen Carter, ABC Science, 6/16/2008; Rumchev study abstract. Click on image to enlarge..