Spanish scientists have published new warnings on the risk to babies from passive smoking.
Researchers found nicotine levels in the hair of babies who sleep in the same room as their smoker parents were three times higher than in those who sleep in another room.
The study - which has just been published in the journal BMC Public Health - claims the nicotine comes from cigarette smoke particles on the parents' skin, clothes and hair.
Scientists analysed hair samples from 252 babies under the age of 18 months and interviewed their parents about their smoking habits. Seventy-three percent said they either smoked or allowed smoking in their homes. Shockingly, 83 percent of the babies' hair samples showed high levels of nicotine - or 'third-hand smoke'.
The researchers also discovered that cigarette smoke toxins were still present even when parents ventilated the room, or smoked by the window.
The report's lead researcher, Guadalupe Ortega, issued parents with the stark warning that 'passive smoking is the leading preventable cause of childhood death in developed countries.'
What do you think?
Do you smoke at home?
What safeguards do you have in place to stop your children coming into contact with smoke?
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