Smoked food - is it safe and should kids eat it

[cosmicdomestic]

I love smoked meat and fish - but I'm concerned that those chemicals that the smoke adds are unhealthy for adults and particularly kids. Indeed, a quick Google search confirms this in a scientific sense.
Why are smoked foods so common, sold by all the responsible supermarkets and promoted in the press?
There was a time back in the 40s and 50s when we did not understand that tobacco smoke was bad for us - even though there was scientific evidence that pointed to health problems. Will this happen for smoked foods?
I know it is to some extent about how much you consume and everything in moderation" is a good motto - but the articles I have seen suggest that even a tiny bit once is not too good for you.
Anyone else interested or concerned?

My kids love smoked salmon and eat it a lot. I hope it's ok!

Perhaps it is okay eaten in moderation?

I love smoked salmon (as does the poster above!) but can't say I eat it on a daily basis. Perhaps once a month.

OK, perhaps I am being naive.

But humans have eaten cooked food (meat, especially) for a long, long, long, long time. And the VAST majority of that period (as in, millions of years) has involved food that has been cooked over an open fire.

Surely we are designed to eat food that has been enveloped in smoke?

Looking at peer reviewed data on pubmed it mostly focused on the difference between home smoked and commercially smoked products. It would appear that home smoked products contain higher levels ( some times double) the levels of chemicals we should be concerned about. In communities where predominately home smoked products are eaten there are higher levels of certain cancers.
Apart from that other good quality sources say there are chemicals that may cause concern.
You have to balance that some smoked products such as oil fish contain things which are good for us and may reduce our risk of other disease.
Everything in moderation is very much the best way to my mind.