HL Deb 27 January 1998 vol 585 cc23-4WA
Lord Braine of Wheatley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What information they have on the number of children suffering from asthma; and how this compares with five years ago. [HL182]

Baroness Jay of Paddington

There are no comprehensive data on the number of children with asthma. On the basis of all the information available, it has been estimated that "the prevalence of asthma sufficiently severe to require regular medical supervision is from 4–6 per cent. in children". This estimate is quoted inAsthma: An Epidemiological Overview (Central Health Monitoring Unit, 1995), which brought together a broad range of the best statistics on asthma. Copies are available in the Library.

According to the report of the Health Survey for England 1996, which was published on 12 January, 21 per cent. of children at some time in the past had been diagnosed as suffering from asthma. Copies of this report are also available in the Library. Similarly, in a study of asthma in Great Britain among children aged 12 to 14 years, carried out as part of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) and recently published in the British Medical Journal, 20 per cent. of the children surveyed had had a diagnosis of asthma at some time.

In the United Kingdom in 1995–96, the most recent year for which full data are available, there were an estimated 54,300 hospital in-patient episodes of care for children aged 16 years or under with a primary diagnosis of asthma. This compares with an estimated 64,500 episodes in 1991–92. The same child may be counted more than once if he or she has more than one episode of care.

Lord Braine of Wheatley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their estimate of the number of children whose asthma was caused by their parents smoking. [HL184]

Baroness Jay of Paddington

The Government have no basis on which to estimate the number of children whose asthma may have been caused by their parent's smoking. It is recognised that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke causes asthma attacks and exacerbates the symptoms of asthma. The scientific evidence to support environmental tobacco smoke being a cause of asthma is still being assessed, and this topic will be considered in the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (SCOTH)'s report to the Chief Medical Officer, to be published in the spring.