Twenty-six percent of the nation’s junior, senior and vocational-high school students live in environments that expose them to secondhand smoke, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said, citing its latest survey as it urged people to quit smoking.
Fewer teenagers are being exposed to secondhand smoke at home each year, as the overall rate of tobacco use has been declining, the agency said.
The latest survey results showed that 26.3 percent of junior-high school students were exposed to secondhand smoke at home last year, down from 30.7 percent in 2019, while the rate for senior and vocational-high school students was down from 30.5 percent to 26.2 percent, it said.
Photo: CNA
However, secondhand smoke can be an “invisible killer,” causing about 3,000 deaths in Taiwan per year, and even short-term exposure can lead to higher risks of cardiovascular diseases, it said.
The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has listed secondhand smoke as a Group 1 carcinogen, said Liu Chia-hsiu (劉家秀), a senior technical specialist at the HPA’s Smoke Hazard Prevention Division.
Studies in other countries have shown that teenagers whose parents smoke are more likely to suffer from bronchitis and pneumonia compared with those whose parents do not smoke, she said.
Secondhand smoke might also lead to more serious and frequent asthma attacks in teenagers, while infants who are exposed to secondhand smoke might die of sudden infant death syndrome, Liu said, adding that exposure before or after birth can lead to worse lung conditions.
Smoking on balconies or in bathrooms does not prevent exposure of family members to secondhand smoke, as smoke can be absorbed by hair, skin, clothes, curtains and carpets for up to half a year, pediatrician Chen Mu-jung (陳木榮) said.
People who want to quit smoking can seek help from the HPA’s smoking cessation services provided by doctors and health professionals in 3,500 medical institutions across the country, the HPA said.
People can also call the smoking cessation hotline for professional support at: 0800-636-363.
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