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Breaking the cycle of children's exposure to tobacco smoke

April 2007

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that half of children worldwide live with at least one smoker. That has a profound effect on children’s health – from the direct health effects of inhaling second-hand smoke (SHS), to the risks of house fires. Addiction to tobacco also perpetuates poverty, and leaves a lethal legacy to a new generation of smokers who have learned from their parents to use tobacco.

In the United Kingdom (UK), more than five million children under 16 are exposed to SHS in their homes. By July 2007, all enclosed public places in the UK will be smoke-free. As the ban on smoking in public places comes into law, we will see a reduction in the current level of tobacco related disease that still blights the UK and kills an estimated 109,000 people each year. The evidence from other countries shows that smoke-free public places will protect workers from SHS, and will help smokers to quit. Furthermore, smoke-free places will reduce the numbers of our children who are exposed to SHS in their homes, and may prevent many from starting to smoke.

There is no doubt that the smoke-free laws will benefit the UK’s children, protecting their future health, and that of their families. The law, however, will not protect those children who remain exposed to tobacco smoke in utero, and to SHS in their own homes. The overwhelming majority of the world’s children, however, live in countries where there is no legislative protection from SHS at all.

This report describes the damage that adult smoking causes children. It explores effective ways of protecting some of the most vulnerable people in society from short and long-term harm, and recommends evidence-based policies that need to be adopted to break the cycle of children’s exposure to tobacco smoke. As with other publications by the BMA Board of Science this report is aimed at a wide audience, including health professionals, policy makers and members of the public. The approach of the BMA’s Board of Science is to provide a clear synthesis of the available research, and to develop evidence-based recommendations for policy.

Download the report in PDF format (361K)