Three children, boys aged 6, 4 and 4 years presented with recurrent cough and (or) wheeze. Exposure to tobacco smoke at home was considered an aggravating factor. Symptoms in all three cases improved considerably or resolved completely when the patients' (grand)parent(s) stopped smoking. There is little literature on the beneficial effect of parents' giving up smoking on symptoms of childhood asthma. These cases, however, illustrate that advising parents of children with recurrent respiratory symptoms to give up smoking can be a rewarding and successful form of therapy.