Tobacco Use and Secondhand Smoke Exposure of Children and Youth with Serious Chronic Illness: Establishing an Agenda for Research and Action

The United States is home to 73 million children under the age of 18 years (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2006). In 2005, 9.3% of 8th graders, 14.9% of 10th graders, and 23.2% of 12th graders had smoked in the past month. (Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2006). Between 28% and 42% of children live with one or more adults who smoke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2000; Schuster, Franke, & Pham, 2002). These adults serve as important role models for children's tobacco use, and are often unwittingly the source of children's cigarettes. These adults are also a key source of children's exposure to secondhand smoke. Most of the nation's children and adolescents enjoy good health—but not all. It is estimated that