Children from low socio-economic regions across the world face the most severe impact from second-hand smoke
By
A new study has revealed children lose 8.45 million days of healthy life each year globally due to second hand smoke. In particular, children from low socio-economic regions face the biggest impact of breathing second hand smoke, also known as passive smoking.
In the first global study examining the impact of second-hand smoke exposure under 14 years old, researchers analysed data from the Global Burden of Disease Study, a large international project that tracks deaths and illness from major diseases, injuries, and risk factors across the world.
Check out our related reads:
‘Data from the World Health Organisation estimate that second-hand smoke exposure causes 1.2 million premature deaths annually, including approximately 65,000 among children under the age of 15,’ said Assistant Professor in the School of Clinical Medicine at Hangzhou Normal University, Dr Siyu Dai.
‘But we know that many more children will suffer illness caused by other people smoking around them, so we wanted to quantify this problem globally and regionally, to provide evidence for more precise tobacco control policies.’
One of the key measures of the Global Burden of Disease Study is the disability-adjusted life year (DALY), which represents the total burden of disease. In simple terms, one DALY equals one year of healthy life lost (whether this be from dying too early or living with illness or disability).
Looking at data from more than 200 countries and territories, Dr Dai estimated that in 2021, exposure to second-hand smoke contributed to 3.79 million DALYs from lower respiratory infections (acute bronchitis, pneumonia), 800,000 from ear infections, and 3.86 million from chest infections and tuberculosis globally among children.
According to Dr Dai, children in lower socio-economic regions bear a ‘disproportionate share’ of this preventable health burden. This likely reflects a combination of factors including lower public awareness regarding the dangers of second-hand smoke, more overcrowded and poorly ventilated homes, and weaker tobacco control policies.
‘Around the world, hundreds of millions of people are still smoking and many are being exposed to second-hand smoke,’ said Chair of the European Respiratory Society’s tobacco control committee, Dr Filippos Filippidis. ‘Sadly, children often suffer the most as their lungs are still developing and they cannot avoid smoking in the home.’
