Youngsters from low socioeconomic areas endure disproportionately, with illness burden charges as much as 30 occasions increased than in high-income areas on account of weaker tobacco management and better family publicity.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Extreme world burden – In 2021, secondhand smoke prompted kids below 14 to lose 8.45 million years of wholesome life, primarily by respiratory infections.
- Inequality affect – Youngsters in low socioeconomic areas endure disproportionately, with illness burden charges as much as 30 occasions increased than in high-income areas on account of weaker tobacco management and better family publicity.
- Prevention alternative – Researchers stress that it is a absolutely preventable well being disaster, calling for stronger tobacco management legal guidelines, smoke-free environments, and broader efforts to scale back smoking worldwide.
Youngsters lose 8.45 million days of wholesome life annually globally on account of secondhand smoke, in line with analysis introduced at ERS 2025.1 Youngsters from low socioeconomic areas face the largest affect of respiration second-hand smoke, also referred to as passive smoking.
The research was introduced by Dr Siyu Dai, Assistant Professor within the College of Scientific Medication at Hangzhou Regular College and an Honorary Analysis Affiliate within the Division of Pediatrics at The Chinese language College of Hong Kong. She informed the Congress: “Secondhand smoke is a significant contributor to preventable sickness and demise in kids and there’s no protected publicity degree. It’s linked to chest infections, heart problems, and neuro-developmental issues and makes bronchial asthma signs worse. Younger kids are particularly inclined as a result of their our bodies and lungs are nonetheless creating they usually have little management over their very own environments.
“Knowledge from the World Well being Group estimate that secondhand smoke publicity causes 1.2 million untimely deaths yearly, together with roughly 65,000 amongst kids below the age of 15. However we all know that many extra kids will endure sickness brought on by different folks smoking round them, so we wished to quantify this drawback globally and regionally, to supply proof for extra exact tobacco management insurance policies.”
Within the first world research to look at the affect of secondhand smoke on kids below 14 years outdated, Dr Dai and her colleague Miss Ruiying Jin analyzed knowledge from the International Burden of Illness Research,2 a big worldwide challenge that tracks deaths and sickness from main illnesses, accidents, and danger components internationally.
One in all its key measures is the disability-adjusted life 12 months (DALY), which represents the full burden of illness. In easy phrases, one DALY equals one 12 months of wholesome life misplaced (whether or not from dying too early or dwelling with sickness or incapacity).
Taking a look at knowledge throughout greater than 200 international locations and territories, Dr Dai estimated the years misplaced to secondhand smoke throughout main illness classes from 1990 to 2021 in kids aged 0–14 years. She then in contrast this to the Socio-demographic Index, which mixes data on the financial system, training, and fertility charge of nations all over the world, as a illustration of social and financial improvement.
She discovered that in 2021, secondhand smoke publicity contributed to three.79 million DALYs from decrease respiratory infections (acute bronchitis, pneumonia), 0.80 million from ear infections, and three.86 million from chest infections and tuberculosis globally amongst kids.
The researchers discovered that secondhand smoke continues to pose a critical well being danger to kids worldwide, however is especially problematic in poorer areas, the place the charges of illness burden (measured in DALYs) have been a lot increased.
Areas that rating extremely on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) reported age-standardized DALY charges of seven.64 and 10.25 per 100,000 kids for decrease respiratory infections and respiratory infections/tuberculosis, respectively, in comparison with low-SDI areas which confirmed charges of 302.43 and 305.40.
Dr Dai defined: “The affect of secondhand smoke on kids’s respiratory well being stays extreme, however in some components of the world, kids are struggling much more than in others. Youngsters in lower-SDI areas bear a disproportionate share of this preventable well being burden. This possible displays a mixture of things similar to decrease public consciousness concerning the risks of second-hand smoke, extra overcrowded and poorly ventilated properties, and weaker tobacco management insurance policies. These situations could result in increased publicity for kids.
“In 2021 alone, publicity to secondhand smoke was linked to almost 8.45m years of wholesome life misplaced on account of respiratory infections and tuberculosis, highlighting a preventable burden that falls most closely on the least developed areas. Youngsters are shedding all these years of wholesome life, however this might be prevented in the event that they have been protected against different folks’s smoke,” she added.
Dr Dai plans to hold out additional analyses of secondhand smoke-related respiratory illness burden primarily based on age, gender, and different components, to help extra exact and focused interventions within the close to future.
Dr Filippos Filippidis, Chair of the European Respiratory Society’s Tobacco Management Committee, primarily based at Imperial Faculty, London, UK, who was not concerned within the analysis mentioned: “Around the globe, tons of of tens of millions of persons are nonetheless smoking and plenty of are being uncovered to secondhand smoke. Sadly, kids typically endure probably the most as their lungs are nonetheless creating they usually can’t keep away from smoking within the residence.
“This research quantifies the big hurt kids are affected by secondhand smoke all over the world. It’s a wake-up name that we have to do way more to guard kids. Particularly, we have to create and implement legal guidelines that restrict smoking in locations the place kids stay or go to highschool. Nonetheless, probably the most environment friendly strategy is to scale back smoking throughout all age teams, which might considerably restrict second-hand smoke publicity for kids as effectively.
“As tobacco firms intensify advertising and marketing of rising merchandise, similar to e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, additionally it is vital to discover how these could not directly have an effect on kids’s well being when they’re uncovered to secondhand vapors.”
[1] Summary no: OA5371 “International tendencies and regional variations within the burden of illness attributable to second hand smoke publicity in kids throughout 1990-2021: an evaluation of the International Burden of Illness research”, by Siyu Dai et al; Introduced in session, “One world: widespread respiratory challenges and shared options”, at 09.30-10.45 CEST on Tuesday 30 September 2025.
[2] International Burden of Illness Research
