Study: 99% of Children Living in Apartments May Be Exposed to Secondhand Smoke

There are fewer and fewer places where smokers can light up these days, with smoking bans being instituted by governments and private companies in virtually every public place, from offices and airplanes to bars and restaurants. And now there's proof that supports bringing no smoking policies to the only remaining place (other than outdoors) where smokers can still light up inside their homes.

Or, at least where smokers are living in apartments. In a study of tobacco exposure from secondhand smoke in more than 5,000 children, researchers led by Dr. Karen Wilson at University of Rochester found that youngsters aged 6 to 18 years who lived in multi-unit housing had a 45% raise in a chemical byproduct of tobacco in their blood compared with children who lived in detached family homes. And these were youngsters who lived in units where nobody smoked inside the apartment itself, meaning that the exposure was occurring primarily via secondhand smoke drifting in from other units.