2008-10-28 15:38:57 - This Halloween millions of parents, and many grandparents, friends, and neighbors will all warn children about the dangers of motor vehicle accidents or eating candy which hasn't been inspected, but most will fail to warn about the biggest risk - one which may kill more children this Halloween than all of the others combined.

On average, only a handful of children are killed in auto accidents every Halloween in the United States. Although this reportedly is higher than other nights, the number still pales in comparison to the death toll from secondhand tobacco smoke.

According to the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, secondhand tobacco smoke kills more than one thousand children every year from diseases including respiratory syncytial bronchiolitis, asthmatic attacks, and other respiratory complications. This doesn't even include the larger number of deaths each year from SIDS [Sudden Infant Death syndrome] apparently triggered by tobacco smoke.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that each year, even at the levels found in a home where only one parent smokes, smoke causes in infants: 150,000-300,000 lower respiratory

infections like pneumonia and bronchitis; 7,500-15,000 hospitalizations; 200,000-1,000,000 asthma attacks; 8,000-26,000 new cases of asthma, and - as noted - a large increase in deaths from SIDS.

Thus, suggests Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), adults should warn their children this Halloween, and also on other days, against visiting, going to parties, or playing in homes where adults smoke, especially in their presence.

They should also stay away from a parent, grandparent or other adult while they are smoking, and avoid being seated in the smoking sections of restaurants - and in cars when adults are smoking - where exposure is far higher.

The National Confectioners Association claims that the idea the Halloween candy may be tainted with razor blades or poison is largely an urban myth. So perhaps parents, grandparents, and other adults should give more attention to warning kids about more clearly established dangers, suggests ASH.

PROFESSOR JOHN F. BANZHAF III
Executive Director and Chief Counsel
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2013 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006, USA
(202) 659-4310 // ash.org