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Originally Posted by ian@huth
Looking at the children who have asthma that I know they all come from non-smoking families. Could it be that living in a too clean environment makes people more susceptible to certain illnesses and diseases? More children these days suffer from respiratory problems although the percentage of people smoking is falling. Is it the case that there are more pollutants in the air from sources other than tobacco smoke that is causing this increase or is it a weakening of the immune system? Smoking will naturally get the blame though as it is the easy target.
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an interesting concept but what does the science 'facts' say about it?
http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/M...ts/asthma.html
interestingly Bupa dont list 'smoking' or 'exposure to passive smoke' under the causes, but your concept is there:-
"there is a theory (called the hygiene hypothesis) that people in developed countries are no longer exposed to the kinds of infections they would have had to deal with in the past so the immune system over-reacts to harmless substances"
---------- Post added at 17:31 ---------- Previous post was at 17:30 ----------
although it does say "If you smoke, you should give up as this is good for your health and will improve your asthma symptoms".
---------- Post added at 17:32 ---------- Previous post was at 17:31 ----------
a quick search on yahoo for 'smoking causes asthma' brought this up:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1562147.stm
---------- Post added at 17:34 ---------- Previous post was at 17:32 ----------
the conclusion appears to be exposure to smoke makes you more likely to develop Asthma/respiratory problems.