Non-smoking adults have a higher risk of dying from serious lung disease if they grew up with parents who smoked, according to US research.
The researchers said childhood passive smoking was “likely to add seven deaths to every 100,000 non-smoking adults dying annually.”
The study of 70,900 non-smoking men and women was led by the American Cancer Society.
Experts said the best way to protect children was to quit smoking.
If participants lived with a smoker during adulthood, there were other health implications, the study found.
Smoke exposure of 10 or more hours every week increased their risk of death from ischemic heart disease by 27%, stroke by 23% and chronic obstructive lung disease by 42% compared to those who lived with non-smokers.
The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Participants were questioned about their exposure to smoking throughout their lives, and then their health was tracked over the next 22 years.
Hazel Cheeseman of campaign group, Action on Smoking and Health, said: “This latest study adds to the compelling case to take smoke outside to protect children from harm.
“The best way to do this is for parents to quit.”
She referred to data on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England urging improved funding in this area.
Dr. Nick Hopkinson, medical adviser to the British Lung Foundation, agreed, saying: “Passive smoking has a lasting impact well beyond childhood.
“Unfortunately, stop smoking services in the UK are being cut. We need to make sure that everyone, especially parents of young children and pregnant women who smoke, get the help they need to quit.”
Children whose parents smoke are known to be at risk of asthma and poor lung development.
This study shows that the effects of childhood smoke exposure persist into adulthood, resulting in chronic obstructive lung disease.
While the researchers focused on mortality risks, they emphasised that childhood second-hand smoking may also increase chronic illness and healthcare dependency in later life.
Dr. Ryan Diver, one of the report’s authors, said: “This is the first study to identify an association between childhood exposure to second-hand smoke and death from chronic obstructive lung disease in middle age and beyond.
“Our findings provide further evidence for reducing second-hand smoke exposure throughout life,” he added.
Ecuador tightens entry rules for Venezuelan migrants
Ecuador has brought in new rules to stop Venezuelan migrants entering the country without a passport, leaving many stranded in neighbouring Colombia.
Thousands of Venezuelans fleeing their country’s economic and political crisis have been crossing into Ecuador from Colombia using only identity cards.
Most are heading south to join family members in Peru and Chile.
Colombia has protested against the move, saying vulnerable people will be trapped on its side of the border.
In a separate incident, residents of a Brazilian town attacked a Venezuelan migrant camp on Saturday and drove the occupants back across the border.
Venezuela has suffered for years from high inflation and the chronic shortage of food and medicines.
More than a million Venezuelan migrants have entered Colombia in the past 15 months, according to official estimates, and more than 4,000 have been arriving at Ecuador’s border every day.
Many have been walking or hitching rides for weeks and are exhausted by the time they reach the frontier.
Early on Saturday, about 300 Venezuelans were lined up at the Rumichaca border crossing outside the Colombian city of Ipiales, and many said they had no passports to gain entry to Ecuador.
Gabriel Malavolta, a 50-year-old mechanic, left Venezuela three days ago aiming to make the overland route to Lima, Peru, through Ecuador.
He has a passport but his fiancee, Yenny, had only an ID card.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we can’t go back. I’m not sending my fiancee to go back and go hungry,” he told Reuters news agency at a Red Cross tent.
“You’ve no idea what it’s like [in Venezuela]. Whole families eat from the trash.”
Another migrant, Regulo Guaita, said: “That was truly a surprise. We found out today. It’s very sad because there are many, many Venezuelans leaving and (with this measure) they won’t let them leave. I don’t know what they’ll do now.”
Christian Kruger Sarmiento, director of the Migration Colombia agency, told the BBC the move would only create more problems.
“Demanding a passport is not going to stop migration because this population is not leaving the country for pleasure but out of necessity,” he said.
“The first thing that will happen… is that it will see an increase in undocumented migration. That brings a lot of problems with it.”
With the flow of Venezuelan migrants causing tensions across the region, Peru’s government announced immigration measures similar to Ecuador’s on Friday.
Passport requirements for Venezuelans will begin on 25 August.
In February, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced a tightening of border controls, resulting in thousands of Venezuelans rushing to crossing points.
Brazil, which neighbours Venezuela, has also expressed concerns and temporarily closed the border earlier this month.
Violence has flared in the border state of Roraima where thousands of Venezuelans live in precarious accommodation.
In the border town of Pacaraima on Saturday, several migrant encampments were attacked by angry residents.
The attacks followed a protest in the town after a local restaurant owner was allegedly robbed and beaten up by Venezuelans.
According to reports, hundreds of Venezuelans fled back across the border and residents set fire to the belongings they had left behind.
On the Venezuelan side of the border, meanwhile, there were reports that Brazilian cars had been attacked.
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Egypt internet: Sisi ratifies law tightening control over websites
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has signed a new law that tightens controls over the internet.
The legislation on “cybercrime” means websites can be blocked in Egypt if deemed to constitute a threat to national security or the economy.
Anyone found guilty of running, or just visiting, such sites could face prison or a fine.
Authorities say the new measures are needed to tackle instability and terrorism.
But human rights groups accuse the government of trying to crush all political dissent in the country.
The Cairo-based Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression said more than 500 websites had already been blocked in Egypt prior to the new law being signed.
Last month another bill was passed by parliament, yet to be approved by President Sisi, that would allow any social media accounts with more than 5,000 followers to be placed under supervision.
Correspondent says that with street protests in Egypt all but banned, the internet has been one of the last forums left for Egyptians to express dissent.
Human Rights Watch issued a warning last month that Egyptian authorities were increasingly using counterterrorism and state-of-emergency laws and courts to unjustly prosecute journalists, activists, and critics for peaceful criticism.
Those recently arrested include the well-known blogger and rights defender Wael Abbas; Amal Fathy, a political activist and the wife of the head of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms; and the comic Shady Abu Zaid.
Kerala floods: Troops rush in to help rescue efforts
India’s armed services are stepping up efforts to rescue thousands of people stranded by flooding in southern Kerala state that has killed 324 people.
Hundreds of troops and dozens of boats and helicopters are helping to evacuate people from what officials say is the worst flooding there in a century.
Many people are still believed to be trapped on rooftops of flooded homes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier flew over the worst-hit sites and met state officials to discuss the crisis.
There are fears the situation may get worse with more heavy rain and strong winds forecast.
Nearly 1,000 people have died in total since India’s rainy season began in June.
Kerala’s chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, says the flooding is the worst the state has seen in 100 years.
In a tweet, he said that more than 314,000 people were now living in more than 2,000 emergency relief camps set up in the area.
But many others remain stuck on trees and rooftops – NDTV says the number is in the thousands, but other news sites put the figure in the hundreds.
According to The Times of India, at least 10,000 people are stranded in one village alone after all surrounding roads were submerged.
People who are stuck without electricity and supplies have been resorting to social media to appeal for help and say they have been unable to contact rescue services.
Krishna Jayan, 58, told the BBC she was at home sleeping when her friend woke her up.
“I opened the door and water gushed in,” she said. “When we stepped into the street, we were neck-deep in water.”
She said locals had tied ropes along the streets to help people walk through the water, allowing her and her friend to reach a bus to escape.
One heavily pregnant woman stranded by floods gave birth soon after being airlifted to safety, AFP reports.
Parts of Kerala’s commercial capital, Cochin, are also under water, snarling up roads and leaving railways across the state impassable.
Authorities say a total of 38 helicopters and 20 aircraft have been deployed and are helping to airlift emergency supplies to many areas.
A special train that carries drinking water has also been sent to the state.
Prime Minister Modi flew to Cochin early on Saturday where he chaired a meeting of officials, before conducting an aerial survey of the worst affected areas.
The international airport there is closed because of flooding on the runway.