Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would first like to say that I am pleased that the Tobacco Control Act was introduced in this House earlier this week, and I applaud the Minister and his department for that.

That act will prohibit smoking in public places and regulate the sale and advertising of tobacco products. However, Mr. Speaker, controlling smoking in homes remains the responsibility of individual citizens. Today, I would like to make a plea to all smokers, if they won't protect themselves, at least protect children in their care from the dangers of second-hand smoke. We all know tobacco

smoke is a health hazard to non-smokers, yet the number of children exposed to second-hand smoke is very high in a large number of households in the NWT.

Every day, we see young children, or infants, in the back seat of a vehicle, and their parents in the front seat smoking away. You can see the smoke trapped in the vehicle like a capsule. The children, or infants, strapped in their car seats are forced to breathe in that smoke. It's interesting that we can ban smoking in bars to protect the workers there. You can't smoke in your own home at least three hours prior to having a contractor come in to service your furnace because they are protected by legislation from second-hand smoke, but if it's just children, go right ahead. What are they going to do about it?

Mr. Speaker, in 1996-97, nearly 1.6 million Canadian children under the age of 12 were regularly exposed to cigarette smoke at home. This amounts to one-third of all children in this age group. Research shows that 85 percent of young children who live with a daily smoker are regularly exposed to tobacco smoke. In short, if there is a smoker in the household, the chances are very high that children will live in a polluted environment.

Among the important childhood effects of second-hand smoke exposure are exacerbated asthma, ear infection, and even sudden infant death syndrome. Children up to 18 months of age who are exposed to second-hand smoke in the home have up to four times greater risk of experiencing lower respiratory tract infections including bronchitis and pneumonia. In addition, children exposed to second-hand smoke also have more upper respiratory tract infections such as sore throats, stuffy noses, and trouble getting over a cold, than do unexposed children.

Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood, and environmental factors play an important part in determining both onset and severity. Children exposed to second-hand smoke are at least at a 1.5 times greater risk of developing asthma compared to non-exposed children. Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement, please.