DR. WALLACE: Every summer my uncle, aunt and cousin (a boy) go on vacation with my mom, dad and me. My mom and my aunt are identical twins. When we stay in a motel we always get three rooms. My mom and dad stay in one, my aunt and uncle stay in another and Kenny and I stay in the third room. I hate staying with him. He is very immature and 11 years old. I am 13 and like to think that I'm mature. When I told my mom that I didn't want to stay with Kenny this summer vacation, my mom thought I was being a bit selfish. We both agreed to let you be the judge. —Erin, Oklahoma City, Okla.

ERIN: I'm with you. The most economical and prudent decision would be for Kenny to share a room with his parents, and you share a room with mom and dad. Vacations are supposed to be enjoyable affairs for all family members.

SECONDHAND SMOKE CAN CAUSE CANCER

DR. WALLACE: I've been reading your column ever since I was in eighth grade. I'm now in the twelfth grade and will be attending college in September. I live with my parents and three younger brothers, ages 6 through 14. Both of my parents are heavy smokers. They smoke outside during the summer, but when the weather tends to cool, they light up in the house. I constantly harp at them, telling them that secondhand smoke is harmful for us children, but they don't believe it. The reason they smoke outside of the house is because they do not want the house smelling like a chimney. It has nothing whatsoever to do with us breathing secondhand smoke.

I know that you have written that secondhand smoke is dangerous to all who have to breathe it. Please inform my parents that it's true. I'm afraid that when I go away to college they will become full-time house smokers because my brothers are not as adamant as I am that secondhand smoke is a health hazard. —Lynne, New York, N.Y.

LYNNE: This is a good time to convince your parents that secondhand smoke causes health problems. The Environmental Protection Agency has found that children who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to suffer from bronchitis and pneumonia, wheezing and coughing spells, ear infections and severe asthma attacks. That's heavy stuff! Secondhand smoke (mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, cigar or pipe, and smoke exhaled by a smoker) has been classified by the EPA as a known cause of lung cancer in humans, resulting in thousands of lung cancer deaths yearly.

Joining the EPA in a campaign to help gather parent signatures to commit to smoking outside as part of an overall public relations health campaign are the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the Consumer Federation of America and the National Association of Counties. This, indeed, is a big and important issue.

A new survey indicates that 70 percent of parents who smoke and who claim to have been previously unaware of the harmful effects of smoking would take their tobacco products outdoors in order to protect their children. Make sure Mom and Dad are aware of the EPA secondhand smoke information and, if possible, have your parents commit to smoking outdoors.

Better yet, it would be wonderful if they would give up using tobacco. I'm also concerned for their health. Parents are much too important to lose any time, for any reason!

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.