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Question: Is smoking cigarettes near children a form of child abuse? Answer: Absolutely! They suffer excessive and unnecessary colds, flues, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Other results of this new study from the federal Centers for Disease Control: more than 10 million children (31.2%) are still being exposed to cigarette smoke in their homes, despite study after study showing how dangerous it is to their health an additional 2 million (5.8%) are exposed less often kids exposed to smoke miss more than 28 million days of school, one third more than kids from smokefree homes these children also have 1.7 million more colds and acute respiratory infections, 10% more than kids who are not exposed kids exposed to tobacco smoke also suffer over 10 million days of restricted activities, such as missing sports practice, 21% more than unexposed kids. Not surprisingly, children in homes with low income and educational levels are far more likely (48%) to be exposed than kids in homes with high income and educational levels (28%). Exposure also differs by region. Almost half of the kids living in the Midwest (40%) are exposed to tobacco smoke, as compared with 24% in California, where the dangers of secondhand smoke are driven home by statewide bans on smoking in the workplace.