PASSIVE SMOKING AND ASTHMA AND ULTRAFINE PARTICLES

摘要

There is some evidence of association between exposure to passive smoking and respiratory symptoms. The exposure of children to passive smoking is of concern. A school-based questionnaire survey and a nested household ultrafine particle (PM0.1) exposure assessment were employed for this study. This study aims to investigate the impact of passive smoking on children's respiratory health, assess the exposure to ultrafine particles in domestic environments and explore associations between environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and ultrafine particles (PM0.1) in domestic environments. The results found that passive smoking is still a health risk for asthma and respiratory symptoms in children. No significant association was found between household smoking and PM0.1. Domestic PM0.1 levels were much higher than outside in most cases and children's bedrooms had a higher level of PM0.1, compared to the lounge rooms. This study suggests that more work needs to be done on campaigns that address smoking control. Good ventilation, especially for children's bedrooms, is also critical to reduce exposure to ultrafine particles.