Children exposed to second-hand smoke have a higher level of cotinine in their blood

According to researchers in Harvard and Rochester Universities the smoke seeps through walls and ventilation systems exposing neighbours to passive smoking. A study was carried out on 5,000 children in America to test the cotinine levels in their blood samples. Cotinine is a product of nicotine and is a highly sensitive marker for tobacco.

Results showed that 73 per cent of the children had been exposed to passive smoking, while overall 84.5 per cent of children living in flats had a cotinine level that revealed they had been exposed to recent tobacco smoke, in comparison to 79.6 per cent of children living in attached houses and 70.3 per cent living in detached houses.

Dr Jonathan Winickoff, study author and associate professor of paediatrics at Harvard Medical School, said, ‘If your neighbours are smoking then you are exposed if you live through the wall in a semi-detached house. In apartment buildings this effect is magnified. Smoke contaminates the whole building.’

Martin Dockrell, director of policy and research at the UK group ASH, said, ‘There is a strong case for social and private sector landlords designating some entire blocks as smoke-free to respect the choice and the health of the great majority of their tenants.’

By James Massoud