Laws banning smoking in public places in Scotland may have helped to significantly reduce childhood asthma, a study suggests.
The research, carried out by the University of Aberdeen, revealed that cases of the condition have dropped by more than 10 per cent in a decade. The study, the longest-running of its kind, found that rates of hay fever and eczema remained static over the same period.
Steve Turner, senior clinical lecturer in child health, said: “There are likely to be a number of contributing factors to the drop in instances of asthma among school children.
“Some of the apparent drop is down to more careful diagnoses being made nowadays. There have also been clear changes in our environment, from diet to the air we breathe.