Cheraghi Maria, Salvi Sundeep
School of Health Sciences, University of Pune, Pune, India.
Eur J Pediatr. 2009 Aug;168(8):897-905. doi: 10.1007/s00431-009-0967-3. Epub 2009 Mar 20.
Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is a major risk factor for poor lung health in children. Although parental smoking is the commonest source of ETS exposure to children, they are also exposed to ETS in schools, restaurants, public places and public transport vehicles. Apart from containing thousands of chemicals, the particle size in the ETS is much smaller than the main stream smoke, and therefore has a greater penetrability in the airways of children. Exposure to ETS has been shown to be associated with increased prevalence of upper respiratory tract infections, wheeze, asthma and lower respiratory tract infections. Even developing fetuses are exposed to ETS via the umbilical cord blood if the mother is exposed to tobacco smoke. The placenta also does not offer any barrier to the penetration of ETS into the fetus. The immune system in these babies is more deviated toward the allergic and asthmatic inflammatory phenotype and therefore makes them more prone to develop asthma later in life. An increased awareness of the harmful effects of ETS on children's health is warranted.
环境烟草烟雾（ETS）是儿童肺部健康状况不佳的主要风险因素。尽管父母吸烟是儿童接触ETS最常见的来源，但他们在学校、餐馆、公共场所和公共交通工具中也会接触到ETS。除了含有数千种化学物质外，ETS中的颗粒大小比主流烟雾小得多，因此在儿童气道中的穿透性更强。已表明接触ETS与上呼吸道感染、喘息、哮喘和下呼吸道感染的患病率增加有关。如果母亲接触烟草烟雾，发育中的胎儿甚至会通过脐带血接触到ETS。胎盘也无法阻止ETS渗透到胎儿体内。这些婴儿的免疫系统更倾向于过敏和哮喘炎症表型，因此使他们在以后的生活中更容易患哮喘。有必要提高对ETS对儿童健康有害影响的认识。
