A recent study has found out that 90% of the children have tobacco-related carcinogens in their urine, as for those children who reside in homes with at least one smoker.

Similarly the tobacco metabolites in such children were found to be around 8% of the level found in smokers.

Lead researcher Janet L. Thomas, an assistant professor of behavioral medicine at the University of Minnesota said "This finding is striking, because while all of the researchers involved in the study expected some level of exposure to carcinogens, the average levels were higher than what we anticipated".

She further explained that the level of carcinogens found in the urine of all the adult non-smokers, who were into passive smoking was about 1 to 5% that of smokers.

The consequences however still are unknown but it is likely that the presence of such carcinogens might result in bringing about some kind of DNA changes in cells which in turn could contribute to lung damage, and potentially lung cancer.

A connection too was found by the researchers between the numbers of cigarettes smoked by one or more adults in a house each day and the tobacco metabolites in the children, who were exposed to such smoke.

The study had been conducted hoping to bring about some changes in the smoking habits of parents.