Good news first. The study, which CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding says is the “largest and most comprehensive report of its kind ever released anywhere by anyone,” found that secondhand smoke exposure among Americans has gone down significantly, as have lead blood levels in children.
Specifically, from 1999 to 2002, exposure to secondhand smoke, as measured by median levels of cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, decreased (compared to levels from 1988-1991):
- 68 percent in children
- 69 percent in adolescents
- 75 percent in adults
And, only 1.6 percent of children between the ages of 1 and 5 had elevated blood lead levels, compared to 4.4 percent in the early 1990s.
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