Protecting children from second-hand smoke

Since the 1970s, we have known that second-hand smoke (SHS) makes children sick, but we have only recently begun to quantify tobacco-related ill health, and to monitor the effects of public health interventions. In this issue of the European Respiratory Journal , Been et al. [1] quantify, for the first time, the effects of smoke-free legislation on hospitalisations for paediatric respiratory infections. Effects of smoke-free legislation on paediatric RTIs: more evidence that child health can be easily improved We thank Kali Tal (Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland) for her editorial contributions.