{"id":406735,"date":"2010-03-09T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2010-03-09T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/childrenshospitalblog.org\/?p=5441"},"modified":"2010-03-09T08:00:25","modified_gmt":"2010-03-09T13:00:25","slug":"second-hand-smoke-has-deadly-consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/406735","title":{"rendered":"Second hand smoke has deadly consequences"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\"ClaireIf your adolescent child has been exposed to secondhand smoke<\/a>, he may already have heart disease. That\u2019s the message of a new study published this month.<\/p>\n

Researchers in Finland followed around 500 children from age 8 to 13. Every year they did a blood test that measured their exposure to tobacco smoke in the previous few days. At age 13, they looked at the arteries of the children using ultrasound, to measure their thickness and health, and measured their levels of Apolipoprotein B, which gives a direct measure of the lipoproteins that can cause heart disease. <\/span>They found that healthy 13-year-olds with exposure to tobacco smoke between 8 and 13 had thickening of the major arteries and higher levels of Apolipoprotein B. While the effects were worse in the kids with the highest exposure to tobacco smoke, they were present in kids with even modest exposure.<\/p>\n

This is scary stuff\u2014especially when you add it to what we already know about the dangers of secondhand smoke:
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0According to the American Cancer Society<\/a>, each year it cases 46,000 deaths in non-smokers who live with smokers, and 3,400 lung cancers in non-smoking adults
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Every year, it causes between 150,000 and 300,000 lung infections in children less than 18 months old, leading to between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Children with asthma who are exposed to cigarette smoke have more frequent and severe asthma attacks
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Children living with smokers can have slower lung growth
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Secondhand smoke is responsible for more than 750,000 middle ear infections in children every year
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Exposure to cigarette smoke increases the risk that a baby will die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS<\/a>)
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Exposure during pregnancy (just exposure\u2014the woman doesn\u2019t have to smoke herself) can lead to low-birthweight babies
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0While exposure to the actual smoke is the most dangerous, more research is suggesting that the particles that get into things like hair, clothing and furniture (those particles that make people smell like cigarette smoke) are toxic as well\u2014so smoking away from people may not be enough<\/p>\n

\"objectionIt\u2019s no surprise, then, that a 2006 Surgeon General\u2019s report<\/a> said that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. But despite this, exposure is still happening\u2014in the workplace, in public places, in far too many homes and in cars (for those who think that rolling down the windows makes smoking in the car okay, a study from New Zealand showed that even with the windows down, the exposure was the same as in a smoky bar!)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for zero tolerance. Here\u2019s how we can start:
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0If you smoke, quit.\u00a0 You don\u2019t really want to hurt the people around you, do you? I know that it\u2019s not that easy\u2014but there are treatments that can help. Talk to your doctor.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Boycott the houses of people who smoke.\u00a0 I know this sounds rude, but what\u2019s more important: being polite, or the future health of your family? And who knows, when Grandma or Uncle George realizes that you are serious about not visiting with the kids, it might just be the impetus they need to quit.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0To the extent that it is possible, don\u2019t let your children be around cigarette smoke. Before you say yes to a playdate, ask if there\u2019s anyone who smokes\u2014if there is, have it at your house instead. Don\u2019t go to restaurants that have a smoking section. Avoid public smoking areas.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Support smoke-free policies in the workplace and your community. The goal should be for all workplaces to be smoke-free. Nobody should be forced to take a health risk in order to make a living!
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Talk to your kids about smoking. According to a 2007 CDC survey, 20% of high school students smoke. That\u2019s better than 23% in 2005, but still too high. Make sure your kids get the message loud and clear from you that smoking is a really bad idea (if you smoke yourself, it\u2019s going to be hard to get that message across!)<\/p>\n

Working together, we can make a difference\u2014and we have to.\u00a0 The lives of our children are at stake.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If your adolescent child has been exposed to secondhand smoke, he may already have heart disease. That\u2019s the message of a new study published this month. Researchers in Finland followed around 500 children from age 8 to 13. Every year they did a blood test that measured their exposure to tobacco smoke in the previous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":503,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-406735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/503"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406735\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}