STUDY STRESSES PERIL OF 2ND-HAND SMOKE

80% of smokers' children are at risk, researcher says

Despite strong evidence of its harm, children are being exposed to
second-hand tobacco smoke in 80 per cent of homes where there are both kids
and smokers, says a University of Toronto researcher.

``There is a real risk to children - it's not trivial,'' says Mary Jane
Ashley, professor in the public health sciences department.

She analyzed data in four studies, involving 4,800 Ontario households, and
found that 20 per cent of families with smokers provided a ``smoke-free''
environment for children. That means tobacco use was allowed only outside
the home.

Her results are published in the current issue of the American Journal of
Public Health.

`SIGNIFICANT' RISK

Half the homes with daily smokers had no rules about tobacco use, while
about 30 per cent of households had ineffective rules, Ashley said.

These included measures such as opening a window when someone is lighting
up, or having the smoker go in a different room, away from a child.

``People may not be aware that what they're doing isn't effective,'' she
said. ``What's effective is just not smoking in the house.''

Second-hand smoke has been shown to increase children's risk of bronchitis,
pneumonia, ear infection, asthma and sudden infant death syndrome.

``We need to make people realize there's a significant health risk,'' Ashley
said. ``We need more public education.''

But she said there is evidence that people's attitudes are changing.

Her research found that 70 per cent of parents with small children, surveyed
in the studies, were against smoking in the home in 1996 - up from 51 per
cent in 1992.

``That's good news,'' Ashley said. With attitudes changing, she said, a
campaign urging people to ban smoking at home probably would have a better
reception than in the past.

``There's no longer an excuse to ignore this problem,'' she said.

Money for Ashley's research was provided by Health Canada.