Other people's tobacco smoke can cause a wide range of health problems.4
Among children, secondhand smoke irritates the nasal passages and bronchial
airways and has been strongly linked to an increased risk of chest infections
(including pneumonia and bronchitis, sometimes leading to emergency
hospital admission), asthma attacks, glue-ear and middle-ear infection,
decreased lung function, and sudden infant death syndrome (‘cot death’).3
However, the public's understanding of these risks is poor. In 2006, a national
survey revealed that in response to prompted questions, just over half (57%)
of adults believed that secondhand smoke increased the risk of cot death
whilst even fewer (36%) thought that tobacco smoke exposure increased the
risk of ear infections.5
In addition to the adverse health impacts of secondhand smoke, children
whose parents smoke are around three times more likely to become smokers
themselves, thus further increasing their risks of ill health both in the short
and long-term.6 Repeated absence from school, as a consequence of ailments
caused by secondhand smoke, can increase the risk of under-achieving with
longterm implications for health and wellbeing