Children raised in apartment buildings have higher levels of cigarette chemicals

By Staff Writer

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, early experimenters and smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to experience various behavioral problems by grade 12. However, according to a new study, children may be exposed to the dangerous chemicals in cigarettes without actually smoking.

ABC reports that research has connected secondhand smoke to asthma and respiratory infections, ear infections and low test scores in children, as well as sudden infant death syndrome.

The researchers looked at parents and six- to 18-year-old children. They reviewed the answers to a survey given on smoking in the home, as well as the levels of cotinine - a chemical which is present in the blood of children who have been exposed to the nicotine in tobacco smoke - in the home, the news source reports.

The results showed that children who lived in apartments had higher levels of tobacco smoke contaminants in their blood than those who lived in houses, according to ABC. In addition, children under 12, those who were black and those living below the federal poverty level had the highest levels of contaminants.