Sufficient evidence also exists to infer a causal relationship between parental smoking and middle ear disease in children, including acute and recurring otitis media and chronic middle ear effusion.
For childhood asthma, a causal relationship was found between secondhand smoke exposure from parental smoking and the onset of wheeze illnesses in early childhood. However, the evidence was only suggestive of a causal relationship between secondhand smoke exposure from parental smoking and the onset of childhood asthma.
The latest data on lung growth and pulmonary function showed a causal relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and persistent adverse effects on lung function during childhood. Exposure to secondhand smoke after birth was also linked to a lower level of lung function during childhood.
Seeking Solutions
To prevent these risks, the surgeon general said, the smoke must be stopped—everywhere. Creating separately ventilated rooms is not an answer to preventing exposure, and the use of typical air cleaning strategies is also not sufficient.
“The only way to protect nonsmokers from the dangerous chemicals in secondhand smoke is to eliminate smoking indoors,” according to the report.
Arguments that such no-smoking policies would cripple the hospitality industry carry no weight in the surgeon general's report. Assessing the evidence demonstrates that “smoke-free policies and regulations do not have an adverse economic impact on the hospitality industry,” the report stated.
The report “clearly supports” a pattern that oncologists have long observed, said Dr. Shirish Gadgeel, an oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit.
The surgeon general's report “absolutely” gives him more clout with patients, he said, adding that some lung cancer patients continue to smoke during treatment.
Now, Dr. Gadgeel said, he can point to the report and say that smokers are putting the health of their “near and dear ones” at risk by continuing to smoke.