Environmental Tobacco Smoke Linked to Adverse Health Outcomes in Children.Also called secondhand smoke, environmental tobacco smoke environmental tobacco smoke (ETS/passive smoke), n the gaseous by-product of burning tobacco products, including but not limited to commercially manufactured cigarettes and cigars; contains toxic elements harmful to the health of adults and children (ETS ETS Educational Testing Service (nonprofit private educational testing and measurement organization) ETS Emergency Telecommunications Service ETS Electronic Trading System ETS Engineering (&) Technical Services ) is associated with low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or crib death, sudden, unexpected, and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant under one year of age (usually between two weeks and eight months old). (SIDS SIDS sudden infant death syndrome. SIDS abbr. sudden infant death syndrome SIDS, n See syndrome, sudden infant death. ), respiratory problems, and middle-ear infections in children, reports the California Environmental Protection Agency The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) was created in 1991 by Governor Pete Wilson, through an executive order.[1] The agency combined six board, departments, and offices into one cabinet-level office:[2] The monograph reports the following findings pertaining to children: * ETS exposure is causally associated with developmental effects and mortality in infants, including low birth weight, small size for gestational age, and SIDS. * The respiratory effects of ETS exposure include onset and exacerbation of asthma, acute lower-respiratory infections, chronic respiratory symptoms, and middle-ear infections. * Postnatal ETS exposure is an independent risk factor for SIDS. * Evidence suggests that ETS exposure has an adverse impact on cognition and behavior, can exacerbate cystic fibrosis, can decrease pulmonary function, and is associated with spontaneous abortion. In response to these findings, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher emphasized the need for continued efforts to achieve a smoke-free society by "encouraging communities to enact clean indoor air ordinances requiring 100 percent smoke-free environments in all public areas [ldots][and to] encourage smokers as well as nonsmokers to make their homes smoke-free to protect their children and families from ETS exposure." |
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