ATLANTA, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- More than 1,000 U.S. babies die each year because of the effects of maternal smoking, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
A CDC report released Tuesday finds 20 percent of U.S. adults smoke cigarettes, 40 percent of non-smokers were exposed to cigarette smoke during 2007-2008 and 90 million non-smoking Americans are exposed to secondhand smoke and have measurable levels of toxic chemicals from cigarette smoke.
"Virtually no kids who live with smokers -- only 1 percent to 2 percent -- actually are smoke-free when we test their blood for tobacco toxins caused by tobacco smoke," Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the CDC said in a telephone news conference. "This reminds us is that there really is no ventilation solution to smoke-free. You have to go smoke-free, whether it's in a business or in a home. Smoke-free means no smoking anywhere."
That 40-year decline in tobacco use in the United States stalled from 2005 to 2009, with no further reduction in tobacco use, Frieden said.
"Today and every day this year, more than 1,000 people will be killed by smoking," Frieden said.
Strong state laws that protect against secondhand smoke, higher cigarette prices, aggressive ad campaigns that show smoking's effects and well-funded tobacco control programs would decrease the number of adult smokers and save lives, Frieden said.