EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PASSIVE SMOKING-RELATED D ISEASES

Smoking has long been known to cause premature death and different ill nesses. Each year 3 million people die from smoking related diseases w orldwide. In recent years there has been concern that non-smokers may also be at risk for some of these adverse effects on health as a resul t of their exposure to tobacco smoke in various environments polluted by smokers. In 1986 the National Research Council and the Surgeon Gene ral of the U.S. Public Health Service independently assessed the healt h effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Both repor ts conclude that ETS can cause lung cancer in adult non-smokers and th at children of parents who smoke have an increased frequency of respir atory symptoms and acute lower respiratory tract infections. The condi tion of asthmatic children improves significantly when they are remove d from ETS. The most severe form of passive smoking is induced by smok ing during pregnancy. The effects concern birth weight, complications of pregnancy and impaired development in childhood.