Public Smoking Bans May Increase Smoking at Home

Public Smoking Bans May Increase Smoking at Home
April 5, 2006

News Summary

A public-smoking ban in Australia has led more parents to smoke at home, raising health risks for kids, researchers say.

The Medical Post reported April 4 that research from the Australian National University's Research School of Social Sciences concluded that "bans in recreational public places can perversely increase tobacco exposure of nonsmokers ... Children seem to be particularly affected. The level of cotinine (a nicotine byproduct measurable in saliva) in children considerably increases as a result of bans in public places."

Public smoking bans tend to "displace smokers to private places where they contaminate nonsmokers," said authors Jerome Adda, Ph.D., and Francesca Cornaglia, Ph.D., visiting scholars from University College London.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Your Turn! Post a public comment (read guidelines):

Name:
Comment: (limit 200 words)
Enter this word (help):	Change

GUIDELINES:
To keep this feature useful for all, please:

Keep it clean, courteous, and on-topic. Comments are meant for thoughtful discussion of the article published above.
Do not post promotional links to organizations, products or services, or personal requests for assistance (get help).
Proof your comments carefully, use good spelling and punctuation, and don't use ALL CAPS. Comments are published immediately and cannot be edited.

Deceptive, slanderous and commercially-motivated posts are prohibited. We reserve the right to remove comments not conforming to these guidelines. (Report a comment).

Have questions or feedback? Contact us.

Many Parents Still Smoke at Home, with Kids

Warning on Smoking Near Babies

U.K.Council Bans Smokers from Being Foster Parents

Carcinogens Found in Infant Children of Smokers

GoingSmokeFree.org: A Toolkit for Implementing Smoke-Free Laws

America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2007