PUB143 Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Risk Factor to Increasing Respiratory Childhood Infection and Pneumonia in South West Regionn Nigeria

Abstract

There is consistent evidence that children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) have higher incidence of asthma, ear- and throat disease, worsening of asthma symptoms and lung symptoms as cough, wheezing and pneumonia. A child exposed to ETS has about 30% higher risk of absence from school due to illness. Evidence clearly implicates (ETS) as a cause of lung cancer, excess respiratory disease, and cardiovascular disease mortality in nonsmokers. Few studies have looked at the interaction of tobacco use or ETS exposure with occupational and ambient air pollution (both indoor and outdoor) in contributing to chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders in developing countries, or the importance of ETS as a risk factor for the already high burden of childhood respiratory infections. A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out in 5 states (Ogun, Lagos, Akure, Oyo and Ekiti). A multistage cluster random sampling was employed to select 450 families in each state. Data was collected using structured questionnaires by trained interviewers. About 2113 records were available for analysis. There were 1298 (60.7%) males and 815 (38.1%) females aged 10 and below. A Majority, 807 (38.0%) live with both parents, 213 (10.0%) live with mother alone while 265 (12.5%) live with relatives. The prevalence of children exposed to ETS in the southwest region Nigeria was 73.2%, the study further revealed that 28.5% of children in this region with respiratory childhood infection are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke and 18.4% pneumonia cases are attributed to ETS. However, (122, 14.7%) parents or relatives don’t see a problem with using tobacco products. It is also clearly stated that about 46.9% cases of respiratory childhood infection and pneumonia combined are caused by ETS in the south west region Nigeria. Since Environmental Tobacco Smoke has this much negative effects on children in the south west region Nigeria. Efforts should be tailored towards protecting children from ETS to reduce the rate of children exposed to ETS, thereby curbing or reducing respiratory childhood infection and pneumonia in Nigeria.