As well as being at increased risk of a series of respiratory conditions, the lungs of children who breathe in passivesmoke may also develop more slowly than children who grow up in smoke-free homes.
Michael Siegel, professor of community health sciences at Boston University, wrote in the New York Times that the ban was "pointless" from a public health perspective and could, in fact, increase the risk of passive smoking by creating "smoke-filled areas" near park entrances.