Secondhand smoke in apartments at issue

A new survey of American apartment dwellers reveals that as many as a third of nonsmoking residents sniff the stench of secondhand smoke in their building's public spaces, while almost half smell it within their own homes.

"As a pediatrician, I have had a lot of feedback from parents who have been telling me that this is really a significant issue for them," said study author Dr. Karen Wilson.

Wilson is the section head of pediatric hospital medicine at Children's Hospital Colorado, and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The findings were presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, in Boston.

The survey focused on 323 nationally representative respondents, and was conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence, which aims to safeguard children from tobacco smoke.

The researchers surveyed apartment residents whose homes had been smoke-free for at least three months. Nonsmoking residents were more likely to indicate that secondhand smoke was an issue if they had children: 41 percent of those with children reported some degree of public area smoke incursion, compared with 26 percent of childless residents.

"Parents need to advocate and speak up, and say, 'I don't want my children to be exposed while they're sleeping, doing their homework or playing at home,' " Wilson said. -- HealthDay