How to Measure Secondhand Smoke Exposure in a Pediatric Clinic Setting

T here has been a recent focus to decrease environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure among children, but an important obstacle to overcome is how to accurately measure ETS exposure. Standardized questionnaires are associated with a high frequency of underreporting. Cotinine, a biomarker for tobacco exposure, appears to be a more promising method to accurately detect ETS exposure, but testing is currently expensive and results are not immediately available. We conducted a study to evaluate the use of a urine dipstick to measure cotinine as an alternative to the current complex testing.