Smoking ban has positive impact on children's health

Anti-smoking legislation has had a positive effect on children’s health, according to a study involving 2.5 million babies conducted by the universities of Hasselt, Maastricht, Harvard and Edinburgh. Smoke-free public spaces have contributed to a more than a 10% reduction in the number of children born prematurely.

The study also shows a 10 percent decrease in the number of hospitalisations and emergency room visits for asthma attacks in children. The results of the study are published in scientific journal The Lancet.

"We already had Flemish data showing a decrease in the number of pre-term births after the introduction of anti-smoking laws," said Professor Tim Nawrot and doctoral student Bianca Cox of Hasselt University. "This international collaboration confirms what we already knew, by combining the relevant data available to us worldwide."