London - Banning smoking in public places has saved nearly 90 000 children from serious illness, according to research.
Smoking inside public buildings, including restaurants, train stations and pubs, was banned across England in June 2007.
Analysis of hospital admissions data shows a dramatic drop in the number of children treated for serious breathing problems in the years since.
About 11 000 fewer have been admitted to hospital with lung infections since the ban was enforced, the numbers show.
Experts believe that breathing in second-hand cigarette smoke was previously a major driver of health problems in the young, because their lungs are smaller than adults’ and still developing.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh analysed 1.6 million hospital admissions of children aged 14 and under across England from 2001 to 2012.
They found that the introduction of the smoking ban was followed by an immediate reduction of 13.8 percent in the number of admissions for lower respiratory tract infections.
Admissions for upper respiratory tract infections also fell but at a more gradual rate.
Study author Dr Jasper Been, whose team’s work was published in the European Respiratory Journal, said: “Although our results cannot definitively establish a cause and effect, the rigorous analysis clearly shows that the introduction of smoke-free legislation was associated with significant reductions in hospital admissions among children.”
In their paper, the scientists said breathing in second-hand smoke was known to increase susceptibility to bacterial or viral lung diseases such as bronchitis and bronchiolitis as well as middle ear infection. An estimated 166 000 children die each year around the world as a result of second-hand smoke – usually due to respiratory tract infections.
Daily Mail