Association between Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Exacerbations of Asthma in Children

Asthma is the most common chronic lung disorder in children; it affects approximately 2 million to 5 million children in the United States. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke has been reported to affect children with asthma adversely in a variety of ways; its effects include a decrease in pulmonary function, 1 – 3 an increase in airway reactivity, 1 – 6 and an increase in the frequency of visits to the emergency room for treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma 7 . Three studies have suggested that children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke may have a higher-than-average risk of asthma 8 – 10 . To date, the . . .