What kind of problems one faces by secondhand smoke?
Here are a few facts about how secondhand smoke affects the population which have been highlighted in the report of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: • Babies are badly affected. Their physical and mental growth can be affected by the smoke. They are unable to walk out of the room and are forced to inhale the smoke. Many parents fail to appreciate their vulnerability. • • Children in homes where adult smoke have higher levels of cotinine ( this is a biological marker of exposure to secondhand smoke) as compared to those children living in homes where people do not smoke. • • Although there has been a decline in the number of children exposed to secondhand smoke in the US since the past 15 years, yet children are more exposed to secondhand smoke as compared to adults. • • About 60% of children in the U.S, between 3-11 years, that is about 22 million children are exposed to secondhand smoke. Also about 25% of those between the age group of 3-11 years live
