LATEST RESEARCH FINDING from Finland and Australia: Passive smoking causes lasting damage to children’s arteries, prematurely ageing their blood vessels by more than three years, say researchers. The damage – thickening of blood vessel walls – increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes in later life, they say in the European Heart Journal. Experts say there is no "safe" level of exposure to second-hand smoke. This study goes a step further and shows that passive smoking can cause potentially irreversible damage to children’s arteries increasing their risk of heart problems in later life

· KEY FINDINGS:

· Smoke can stay in the air for up to two and a half hours even with a window open. It may be there even if you can’t see it or smell it.

· Second-hand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, some of which are known to cause cancer.

· Children who breathe in second-hand smoke have an increased risk of asthma and coughs and colds, as well as SIDS death, meningitis and ear infections.

Best thing that you can do for your child: Quit Smoking