Passive smoking and disorders of the respiratory system in children

Abstract

Although many investigations have noted harmful effects of passive smoking on respiratory health of children, a great proportion of parents continue smoking and exposing their children to tobacco smoke. The main objective of this review is to highlight theharmful eff ects of passive exposure to tobacco smoke on the respiratory system in children and to identify the possible mechanismsof development of these disorders. It has been demonstrated that passive exposure to tobacco smoke is a signifi cant risk factor forrespiratory tract infections; it was found to reduce the levels of lung function and increase the incidence of childhood asthma. Severalstudies have reported that children of smoking parents had a lower grade of motor skills and physical condition than children ofnon-smoking parents. Children born to mothers that smoked during pregnancy have been shown to have an increased risk of respiratorytract illnesses during childhood. Data on the harmful eff ects of tobacco smoke should help in launching public health preventiveaction towards minimizing exposure of children to passive smoking and all detrimental infl uences of passive smoke exposure onthe children’s health.