Smoker's Kids Have More Ear Infections

Although not entirely new news... a new review paper which collated the results of 61 past studies has reaffirmed that smoking around kids increases their risk of ear infections dramatically.

Just how much?

Kids living with a smoker had a:

• 37 percent higher risk of ear infections and hearing problems
• 62 percent higher risk of ear problems if the household smoker was their mom
• 86 percent more likely to undergo ear surgery than kids without secondhand smoke exposure

Read a MSNBC story on this here.

So don't smoke for your own health as well as your kids' health!!!

Reference:
Parental Smoking and the Risk of Middle Ear Disease in Children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. Published online September 5, 2011. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.158