While the smoking rate among Taiwanese women is reportedly relatively low at 3.5 percent, more than one-quarter of women and girls are exposed to secondhand smoke at home, a survey released by the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) yesterday showed.
“A recent study conducted by the agency showed that nearly 28.5 percent of women and girls are exposed to secondhand smoke at home,” agency Director-General Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞) said yesterday in a news release.
Chiou called the situation alarming, saying that according to the WHO, individuals who live with smokers are two or three times more likely to develop lung cancer, and children who are exposed to secondhand smoke over the long term have a higher risk of developing respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia.
Another survey conducted last year by the agency on the nation’s exclusive breastfeeding rate found that about 1.2 percent of pregnant women were smokers, and that 53 percent of pregnant women had seen someone smoking around them during their pregnancy, Chiou said.
The high exposure of young children to secondhand smoke also sparks concern, Chiou said.
A poll carried out by the agency on child health between 2006 and 2010 showed that 55.3 percent of 18-month-olds, 58.9 percent of three-year-olds and 54.3 percent of five-year-olds were exposed to the health hazard, Chiou said.
“It is also worth mentioning that the families of these affected children had spent 3 percent more on medical treatments for asthma, middle-ear infections and bronchitis than their unexposed counterparts,” Chiou said.
Citing a study by the US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chiou said pregnant women who smoke or breathe secondhand smoke are more prone to complicated pregnancies, miscarriages and uterine infections.
“Also, nicotine and carbon monoxide from the smoke can pass to a growing fetus through the placenta, making it more susceptible to being underweight or developing intellectual disabilities, deformities, allergies and mental disorders,” Chiou said, urging potential parents to create healthier environments for their children.
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