Why is Tobacco Free Missouri concerned about secondhand smoke around infants and children?
Infants and children are especially susceptible: their lungs are still developing and childhood exposure to secondhand smoke results in decreased lung function. Children who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to develop asthma, the leading serious chronic childhood disease in the US. • In the U.S., 43 percent of children are exposed to secondhand smoke in their own homes and 85 percent of children have detectable levels of cotinine in their blood. In Missouri, over 352,000 children are exposed to secondhand smoke at home. • Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the severity and frequency of asthma episodes; 200,000 to 1,000,000 asthmatic children with asthma have experienced aggravated symptoms. • Exposure to secondhand smoke causes 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections (pneumonia and bronchitis) annually in children 18 months and younger; these infections result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations each year. • Secondhand smoke exposure causes buildup of fluid in
