Question 1.161

65. Secondhand Smoking and Illness in Children. A Surgeon General's report found that “the evidence is sufficient to infer a causal relationship” between secondhand tobacco smoke exposure from parental smoking and respiratory illnesses in infants and children.8

  1. Given the health risks associated with tobacco use, discuss the ethics of forcing the parents of a treatment group to smoke tobacco.
  2. State whether this report was based on an experimental study or an observational study.

1.3.65

(a) Forcing the parents of a treatment group to smoke tobacco will increase the occurrence of respiratory illnesses of their children. This is not very ethical. (b) Observational study