[I thought we are all the same and race does not exist? Maybe the smoke is being racist for picking on blacks?-ed]

Passive smoking may pose a different risk to African American children than their white counterparts, US research suggests.

The study, featured in the journal Chest, examined 220 children with asthma exposed to cigarette smoke. More than half were black.

The researchers measured levels of cotinine, a substance produced by the body as it metabolises nicotine.

The black children showed significantly higher levels than the white children.

Cotinine is an indicator of nicotine being metabolised, but it does not itself have a negative effect.

However, the study does suggest that race affects how a body responds to tobacco.

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