Secondhand Smoke’s Hazards for Children Reported by EPA

Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke accounts for tens of thousands of serious respiratory ailments each year in young children, especially infants, the Environmental Protection Agency reported Thursday.

A draft report reiterated a position taken by the agency in a draft report a year ago that said substantial evidence shows nonsmokers are at risk of cancer from secondary tobacco smoke.

The EPA findings, the product of more than a year of analyzing scores of scientific studies, were submitted to the agency’s Science Advisory Board for review. The science panel endorsed a preliminary draft a year ago but asked that the section on children’s health risks be strengthened.

The 600-page report said there are “consistent findings” in the studies to conclude that young children, especially those 18 months old or younger, face a substantial health risk if exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke.

According to the EPA researchers, exposure to so-called “environmental tobacco smoke” contributes to between 150,000 and 300,000 serious respiratory ailments, including pneumonia and bronchitis, among young children and infants annually.

While children under 18 months old face the greatest risks, older children also are likely to be affected, the study said. Between 7,500 and 15,000 of these cases are serious enough for the child to be hospitalized, the researchers said.

The EPA study said that exposure to secondary tobacco smoke also “exacerbates” asthmatic symptoms in many of the country’s 2 million to 5 million asthmatic children and that children in households where there are smokers are more likely to become asthmatic.

The Tobacco Institute, which represents the tobacco industry, questioned the EPA researchers’ conclusions, arguing that they did not take into account many other potential factors, including diet and quality of medical care, that may increase the likelihood of respiratory illnesses in children.