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More Bad News Released About Second Hand Smoke

DENVER (CBS) - There's a new warning out about second hand smoke -- particularly the impact on children.

Researchers say second hand smoke kills 600,000 people a year worldwide with illnesses like lung cancer, heart disease and respiratory infections. The study by the World Health Organization (WHO) says 165,000 of the deaths are children.

Researchers say children whose parents smoke have a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, pneumonia and asthma.

"I'm not a smoker, but I know people who smoke around their kids and I think that's not acceptable," a smoker said.

Smoking is banned in most public places in the U.S. and parts of Europe. But researchers say more needs to be done to create smoke free places in Asia and Africa where the impact on children is at its worst.

"That would really be a big step forward in order to protect non-smokers from the harmful effect from second hand smoke," Dr. Annette Pruss-Uston with the WHO said.

Some smokers say they already know the health risks and sick of hearing about them.

"i mean, I wish I could stop smoking easily, I've tried three times in the past and failed miserably - but there we are," another smoker said.

Two months ago The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report. It found more than half of children in the U.S. ages 3 to 11 showed signs of exposure to second hand smoke in their blood.

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