Children who live with one or more indoor cigarette smokers have significantly higher rates of school absenteeism than their peers, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics.
Researchers with the Mongan Institute for Health Policy and the Massachusetts General Hospital Tobacco Research and Treatment Center looked at 3,087 children between the ages of 6 to 11 whose parents had filled out the 2005 National Health Interview Study done in the U.S.
They found that children who lived with one in-home smoker had an average of 1.06 more absences, while children who lived with two smokers were absent for an average of 1.54 more days than their peers.
Secondhand smoke-related illnesses – such as ear infections and chest colds – accounted for 24 percent of these absences in children from households where one parent smoked indoors. Where both parents smoked indoors, 34 percent of absences were related to tobacco smoke.
The researchers also calculated how much these extra absences were costing in terms of lost wages, childcare fees and missed work: "The total impact nationwide was $227 million in lost wages and household work for the families of the 2.6 million children living with smokers and for their employers," explained lead author Douglas Levy.
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