Scientists have produced strong evidence that passive smoking has a lasting impact on the respiratory systems of children.



A team from the US National Center for Environmental Health in Atlanta studied data from 3,400 children aged 3 to 16 years.



The researchers analysed the children's blood to determine the concentration of a substance called cotinine, produced when the body breaks down nicotine from tobacco.
The researchers found that passive smoking had the strongest impact on the youngest children.It was linked to a permanently increased risk of asthma and wheezing. However, older children exposed to tobacco smoke were more likely to have poor lung function....Read More