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Secondhand Smoke and Children
Children in Colorado are exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke in a variety of environments. In fact, more than 54 percent of the state�s adolescents routinely share breathing space with smokers indoors, while 42 percent do so in vehicles. Secondhand smoke exposure poses a variety of health risks to children. For example:
- A smoking parent in the home doubles a baby's risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
- Each year, secondhand smoke is responsible for as many as two million cases of chronic middle ear infections.
- Across the nation, secondhand smoke causes 436,000 cases of bronchitis and 190,000 cases of pneumonia in children under five every year.
- In Colorado, roughly 4,400 asthma cases among children under 15 can be traced to secondhand smoke exposure at home.
- Secondhand smoke raises children's rates of these illnesses: bronchitis, coughing, pneumonia, sinusitis, cystic fibrosis, ear infections, rhinitis, and sore throats.
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