Letter to the Editor

Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Children’s Use of Health Services

Authors: Philip Kum-Nji, MD, MPH, Carole L. Mangrem, MD, Peggy J. Wells, MD, Lisa M. Klesges, PhD, Henry G. Herrod, MD

Abstract

The health hazards of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure are well documented.1,2 However, there is a paucity of information on whether the adverse health effects of ETS exposure necessarily translate into increased use of health services among young children. We prospectively reviewed our experience of patients attending a private pediatric practice in a rural southern community and hypothesized that children exposed to ETS would have a higher frequency of sick office visits, emergency room (ER) visits, and hospitalizations than their unexposed counterparts.

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References

1. Cook DG, Strachan DP. Health effects of passive smoking-10: summary of effects of parental smoking on the respiratory health of children and implications for research. Thorax 1999;54:357–366.
 
2. Jinot J, Bayard S. Respiratory health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Rev Environ Health 1996;11:89–100.
 
3. Hopper JA, Craig KA. Environmental tobacco smoke exposure among urban poor children. Pediatrics2000;106:E47.
 
4. Lam TH, Leung GM, Ho LM. The effects of environmental tobacco smoke on health services utilization in the first eighteen months of life. Pediatrics 2001;107:E91.
 
5. McBride CM, Lozano P, Curry SJ, et al. Use of health services by children of smokers and nonsmokers in a health maintenance organization. Am J Public Health 1998;88:897–902.