WASHINGTON, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) issued the following:
A new study shows that parental smoking each year kills at least 6,200 children, causes 5.4 million serious ailments such as ear infection and asthma, costs $4.6 billion annually in medical expenses alone, and ultimately costs the American economy $8.2 billion annually.
``More young children are killed by parental smoking than by all unintentional injuries combined,'' the researchers said in the July issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
But states are finally beginning to provide protection against what some have called the most prevalent form of child abuse, say law professor John Banzhaf, Executive Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
In at least the fifteen states where the issue has been raised, courts have held that it is appropriate to consider whether a parent smokes around a child in determining whether they should be awarded custody, says Banzhaf.
``Most cases are resolved with the court entering an order prohibiting the parent from smoking around the child -- or sometimes even within the home or car -- sometimes for as long as 2 days before the child's arrival.''
In cases where parents refuse to agree, or violate a court's no-smoking order, parents can and have in fact lost custody, he says.
And, in one of the most encouraging developments of all, the same protection against smoking in the home is beginning to be extended to children not involved in divorce and other proceedings where custody is an issue.
Increasingly it is possible for others concerned with the welfare of a child -- i.e., a doctor, a school nurse, a grandparent, or even a neighbor -- to file a complaint of suspected child abuse, neglect, or endangerment where smoking in the presence of the child creates a significant health risk.
This could occur where the child has asthma, hay fever, allergies, sinusitis, or other conditions which make them especially susceptible to tobacco smoke, says Banzhaf. Even recurrent ear infections might provide the basis for such a complaint, he says. At least three parents he knows about have lost custody of children because of complaints from outside the home.
This report, and others like it, are likely to trigger even more complaints, and provide additional basis for action by courts and by child welfare authorities. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) helped develop the legal theories under which smoking can be raised as an issue in child custody disputes or in child abuse, neglect, or endangerment situations. It has participated or assisted in a number of those proceedings, and debated the legal and other issues in a number of forums.
States which have rules that parental smoking around a child may be considered in custody proceedings include: California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.