Asthmatic kids breathe easier with smoke-free air..

April 20, 2009 - For children with asthma, reducing exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS, passive smoking, secondhand smoke, sidestream smoke, involuntary smoking) greatly decreases their chances of an asthma flare-up, hospital admission or emergency room visit, a study shows.

PAPER: Changes in Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Asthma Morbidity Among Urban School Children, Lynn B. Gerald, PhD, MSPH, Joe K. Gerald, MD, PhD, Linda Gibson, RN, CRNP, Karna Patel, MD, Sijian Zhang, MS and Leslie A. McClure, PhD, Chest April 2009, ABSTRACT...

Children who had any decrease in exposure to second-hand smoke over the course of 1 year had fewer episodes of poor asthma control, made fewer respiratory-related trips to the emergency room and were less apt to be hospitalized than children who had the same or increased exposure to second-hand smoke.

The authors conclude given that the majority of second-hand smoke exposure in the home is due to parents smoking, "the most effective environmental tobacco smoke reduction strategy may be to provide smoking cessation interventions to parents and possibly other household members.

We wonder how a parent who wants the best for their child can smoke in their presence when they know it affects their ability to breath. It's a NO brainer - stop smoking in the presence of your children. Here's a comment from Philip Morris.... David Sutton, a spokesman for Philip Morris USA said the company believes the public "should be guided by the conclusions of public health officials regarding the health effects of secondhand smoke" and "particular care should be exercised where children are concerned." - TobaccoWatch.org.


Reference: Asthmatic kids breathe easier with smoke-free air by Megan Rauscher, Reuters, 4/17/2009.