PEDIATRICS Vol. 92 No. 4 October 1993, pp. A78
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SMOKING ISSUE IS HEATING UP CUSTODY SUITS

B. H. MD

Parental concern about secondhand smoke is adding a new wrinkle to some custody and divorce battles.

Estranged spouses are taking an increasingly aggressive court stance when a child is exposed to cigarette smoke of one parent. Secondhand smoke has become a point of contention in custody cases in more than a dozen states, almost all involving children with respiratory ailments such as asthma and allergies.

And smoking may become an issue in many more custody cases, according to some lawyers. Recent medical reports have cited the heightened likelihood of respiratory disease and middle-ear infection even in healthy children exposed to secondhand smoke. In at least one case a judge has been asked to rule that exposing a child with medical problems to cigarette smoke constitutes child abuse.