Source: Addiction
Date: 2010-02-15

The most comprehensive study to date of secondhand smoke exposure
among children in England is published today in the journal
Addiction. The study, carried out by researchers from the
University of Bath\'s School for Health, reveals that exposure to
household secondhand smoke among children aged 4-15 has declined
steadily since 1996.

The researchers wanted to find out if there were ways to predict
the levels of secondhand smoke encountered by children in private
households, and whether those levels were changing over time.
Using eight surveys conducted between 1996 and 2006, researchers
took saliva samples from over 19,000 children aged 4-15 years.
The saliva samples were analyzed for a substance called cotinine,
an indicator of tobacco smoke exposure.

The results show that the average cotinine levels among
non-smoking children declined by 59% from 1996 to 2006,
indicating that children\'s exposure to secondhand smoke has
decreased markedly since the mid-nineties. The researchers point
out that the largest decline was between 2005 and 2006, a time of
increased public debate and public information campaigns about
secondhand smoke in the lead-up to the 2007 implementation of
smoke-free legislation for public spaces.