Each year, exposure to secondhand smoke causes 150,000 to 300,000
lower respiratory tract infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis)
in U.S. infants and children younger than 18 months of age. These
infections result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations yearly.
Chronic cough, wheezing, and phlegm are more frequent in children
whose parents smoke.
Children exposed to secondhand smoke at home are more likely to
have middle-ear disease and reduced lung function.
Secondhand smoke increases the number of asthma attacks and the
severity of asthma in about 20% of this country's 2 million to
5 million asthmatic children.
Each year, U.S. mothers who smoke at least 10 cigarettes a day
can actually cause between 8,000 and 26,000 new cases of asthma
among their children.
A recent study found that infants are three times more likely
to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) if their mothers
smoke during and after pregnancy. Infants are twice as likely
to die from SIDS if their mothers stop during pregnancy and then
resume following birth.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Services
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