Passive smoking exposes children to lung cancer

CHILDREN exposed to passive smoking on a daily basis face more than triple the risk of lung cancer in later life compared with youngsters who live in smoke-free environments, researchers revealed yesterday.

The massive study, involving more than 303,000 non-smokers across Europe, found that living in a smoky environment as a child significantly increased the danger of lung cancer in adulthood.

Researchers, writing in the British Medical Journal, found that youngsters who experienced passive smoking every day for many hours had over treble the risk of cancer, compared to children who experienced smoke-free upbringings. Children who experienced passive smoking daily, but not for many hours, faced twice the risk of lung cancer.