UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- More than 600,000 people are killed worldwide by secondhand smoke every year, including 165,000 children under the age of 5, a U.N. report says.
A reported on 192 countries by the World Health Organization found more than half of the deaths were from heart disease, followed by deaths from cancer, lung infections, asthma and other ailments, USA Today reported.
The report said about two-thirds of the children's deaths are in Africa and Asia because of less access to public health services such as vaccines and less advanced medical care.
Worldwide, 5.7 million people die from tobacco each year, including the 5.1 million people who die from their own smoking, the report says.
Children are particularly vulnerable to secondhand smoke, and about 40 percent have some exposure, the report says, putting them at higher risk of a variety of illnesses, such as asthma, pneumonia, ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome.
"The combination of infectious diseases and tobacco seems to be a deadly combination for children," the report says.
Growing concern about secondhand smoke has led more than 40 countries to enact some kind of smoking ban, USA Today reported.
Studies have shown smoke-free laws encourage smokers to quit and to make their homes smoke-free, Tom Glynn of the American Cancer Society says.
"There is virtually no parent who does not care deeply about protecting their children from harm," he says. "They will do the right thing if made aware."
