Children worldwide lose more than 8.45 million years of healthy life every year due to exposure to second-hand smoke, with the greatest burden borne by those in low-income countries, according to new research presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam.
“Exposure to tobacco smoke from others is a major cause of preventable illness and death in children, and there is no safe level,” said Siyu Dai, Assistant Professor at Hangzhou Normal University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She noted that passive smoking is linked to respiratory infections, cardiovascular disease, neurodevelopmental disorders, and worsened asthma. “Children are especially vulnerable because their lungs are still developing and they cannot control their environments,” she added.
The analysis drew on data from the Global Burden of Disease project, covering more than 200 countries. In 2021 alone, second-hand smoke accounted for 3.79 million healthy life years lost to lower respiratory infections, 0.8 million to ear infections, and 3.86 million to chest infections and tuberculosis.
The burden is uneven: high-income regions recorded 7.6 cases per 100,000 children, while low-income regions saw more than 300 per 100,000.
Filippos Filippidis, Chair of the European Respiratory Society’s Tobacco Control Committee, described the findings as “a wake-up call” for stronger smoke-free laws in homes, schools, and public spaces. He stressed that the most effective strategy is reducing smoking across all age groups, which would in turn lower children’s exposure.
Dai concluded: “Millions of healthy life years could be saved if children were protected from other people’s smoke,” urging governments to adopt targeted, evidence-based policies to tackle this global health threat.
