A declining rate of smoke-filled homes means fewer cases of middle ear infections in young children, finds a new study out of the Harvard School of Public Health.
With the dangers of second-hand smoke now widely known, researchers found that the number of smoke-free homes has been on the rise since 1993, coinciding with a drop in the number of doctor visits and hospitalizations for children with otitis media, a painful infection of the middle ear.
Between 1993 and 2006, doctor’s visits for otitis media in children under the age of six fell by five percent, and there were ten percent fewer hospitalizations for the condition.
During the same period, researchers determined that the number of voluntary smoke-free households grew from only 45 percent in 1993 to 86 percent by 2006.
"If parents avoid smoking at home, they can protect their children from the disease that is the most common cause of visits to physicians and hospitals for medical care," concluded the study’s lead author, Hillel Alpert.