Secondhand smoke sickens millions and kills more than 600,000 people worldwide each year, including more than 165,000 children under 5, according to the first report to estimate the worldwide burden of disease and death from tobacco.
The World Health Organization's report on 192 countries appeared in The Lancet on Thursday and found more than half of the deaths are from heart disease, followed by deaths from cancer, lung infections, asthma and other ailments.
More than two-thirds of the children's deaths are in Africa and Asia, where they have less access to important public health services, such as vaccines, and less advanced medical care, the report says.
"These (statistics) are sad data," the American Cancer Society's Tom Glynn says.
Tobacco kills a total of 5.7 million people worldwide each year, including 5.1 million people who die from their own smoking, the report says. Smoking is the world's leading cause of preventable death, according to the WHO.
Growing concern about secondhand smoke has led more than 40 countries to enact some kind of smoking ban, although many of these laws are limited, according to Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights.
In the USA, 35 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Northern Mariana Islands have smoke-free laws, protecting 79% of the population.
According to the new report, children are particularly vulnerable. About 40% are exposed to secondhand smoke, along with one-third of adults. Kids exposed to secondhand smoke are at higher risk of a variety of illnesses, such as asthma, pneumonia, ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome.
Almost half of all deaths from secondhand smoke are in adult women, while 28% are in children.
"The combination of infectious diseases and tobacco seems to be a deadly combination for children," the report says.
Because researchers used conservative estimates, the report may underestimate the number of secondhand smoke-related deaths, says Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California-San Francisco.
Glynn says he does see "glimmers of hope" in the report. Smoking bans protect only 7% of the world's population, suggesting lawmakers could save many lives by passing smoking bans, he says.
The bans can have dramatic benefits, the report says. Heart attack rates drop 10% to 20% in the first year after the bans are enacted.
Studies show smoke-free laws encourage smokers to quit and to make their homes smoke-free, Glynn says.
"There is virtually no parent who does not care deeply about protecting their children from harm," he says. "They will do the right thing if made aware."
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http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/medical/2010-11-26-smoke26_st_N.htm
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