Press Release:
BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION RESPONSE TO DAMNING NEW EVIDENCE OF THE EFFECTS OF PASSIVE SMOKING ON CHILDRENÕS HEALTH

Responding to a series of papers in the journal ÔThoraxÕ which shows that passive smoking is linked to respiratory illness, sudden infant death syndrome, asthma and middle ear disease in children, the BMA today renewed its attack on the tobacco industry for attempting to deny and downplay the health damage caused by environmental tobacco smoke.

Dr Bill OÕNeill, Science Adviser to the BMA says: ÔTodayÕs evidence clearly explains why the tobacco industry has been engaged in a desperate disinformation campaign. They do not want to be linked to death and illness in children. But they cannot escape that link. They spend millions recruiting new young smokers who will be the parents of tomorrowÕs sick children.Õ

Dr OÕNeill also called for urgent action to improve support for parents who want to quit.

ÔWe have a major problem. We have been losing the struggle to persuade young people not to start smoking. More than a third of 15 year old girls smoke and by the time they start a family they are thoroughly hooked. 32 per cent of pregnant women are smokers and this rises to 49 per cent in women from poorer households.

ÔThe stresses and strains of being a parent can make it very difficult for parents to cope with the idea of giving up smoking. But it is important that the public understands just how damaging the effects of tobacco smoke are on their childrenÕs health. And as that awareness grows, parents will want to stop. They need and deserve help and support to succeed.Õ
ENDS

Contact: Fiona Simpson, Public Affairs Division, British Medical Association, BMA House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JP
+44 (0)171 383 6123



Press Release:
SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEMS POSED BY PASSIVE SMOKING, ESPECIALLY IN CHILDREN
Six papers by Dr D Cook and co-authors, are published in Thorax (1997) 52 905-21. EMBARGOED UNTIL WEDNESDAY 11 MARCH 1998

Mothers who smoke double the risk of their babies dying of cot death (sudden infant death syndrome) finds a study in ÔThoraxÕ. And parents who smoke significantly increase their childÕs risk of chest diseases, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, glue ear and asthma, the research shows.

The reviews on parental smoking were commissioned by the Department of Health as part of the SCOTH (Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health) report on passive smoking to be launched this Wednesday (March 11). It is difficult to distinguish precisely between the effects of a motherÕs smoking on a child before birth and after, but the risks associated with smoking by other family members suggest that it is the environmental tobacco smoke a child is exposed to after birth which is critical, particularly in the first few years of life.

Schoolchildren whose parents smoke have a higher risk of developing asthma and other respiratory symptoms. ÔThere would be substantial benefits for children if their parents stopped smoking, even if the mother smoked during her pregnancy,Õ concludes Dr Cook.

ÔAt an individual level, adverse effects from environmental tobacco smoke exposure tend to be small in relation to the effects of personal smoking, but the important point is that for various sectors of society, particularly chidlren, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is impossible to avoid,Õ comments Dr John Britton, from the Division of Respiratory Medicine at City Hospital, Nottingham and joint editor of ÔThoraxÕ.
ENDS

Contact: Dr Derek Cook, Department of Public Health Sciences, St GeorgeÕs Hospital Medical School, London. Tel +44 (0)181 725 5490, Fax +44 (0)181 725 3589