Tobacco smoking among asthmatic individuals has shown to influence the course and severity of the disease and its response to treatment.  Children who smoke regularly are four times more likely to develop asthma within eight years than nonsmokers, suggesting a causal link between smoking and asthma.

The results of this brief suggest that a significant proportion of U.S. high-school adolescents with asthma are smoking and putting themselves (and others through second-hand smoke) at increased risk for deleterious health outcomes, and placing additional demands on the nation's health care system. More efforts on the part of health care providers, parents and the educational system are needed to modify the tobacco risk perceptions and diminish knowledge gaps among asthmatic youth, reduce their likelihood of initiating tobacco use and increase the quit rate among smokers.