The effect of passive smoking on pulmonary function during childhood

Passive smoking, especially of maternal origin, is known to influence adver sely the development of children's pulmonary function. In this study, the e ffect of parental smoking on the puhmonary function of 360 primary school c hildren aged 9-13 (mean 10.8+/-0.7) years was investigated. Information on parental smoking history was collected using a questionnaire, and spirometr ic measurements were performed on the children. All spirometric indices were lower in children who had been passively expos ed to parental tobacco smoke than those not exposed. The percentage of hous eholds in which at least one parent smoked was 81.5%. This figure was signi ficantly lower for mothers (27.5%) than for fathers (79%). Paternal smoking was associated with reduced levels of forced expiratory flow between 25-75 % of vital capacity, peak expiratory flow, and flow rates after 50% and 75% of vital capacity expired (p<0.05). Maternal smoking did not have statisti cally significant adverse effects on children's pulmonary function. This re sult might be due to the low occurrence of either pre- or post-natal smokin g among mothers and confirms that, in our population, the main target group for antitobacco campaigns should be fathers.