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 Even though the harms of exposing kids to cigarette smoke are well
known – asthma and lung infections among them – many children still
breathe this smoke at home or in public places or while riding in
cars or buses, noted Dr. Geetha Raghuver, lead author of the
statement.
“Minority children and those from poor backgrounds are exposed more
often,” Raghuver said by email.
“Cigarette smoking is very addicting and a stress reliever; this
along with easy access is likely the reason that it is still
prevalent,” she added.
Overall, an estimated 24 million nonsmoking children and youths are
exposed to secondhand smoke in the U.S., largely because of parents
who smoke.
That translates to four in 10 school-aged children and one in three
adolescents, Raghuver and colleagues note in the statement published
in the journal Circulation.
In 2012, researchers found a nicotine byproduct called cotinine in
blood samples from nearly 41 percent of U.S. children ages 3 to 11,
and in 34 percent of kids ages 12 to 19 — despite declines over
recent decades in both adult smoking rates and the proportions of
young children and adolescents living with smokers.
Poor and non-white kids were disproportionately affected.
Those blood tests found 68 percent of low-income children and 43
percent of minority youth were exposed to second-hand smoke. While
Hispanic children were slightly more likely to be exposed than white
kids, the problem was most pronounced among black children.
“It is a socio-economic and a health care associated disparity
issue,” said Dr. Avni Joshi, a pediatrics researcher at the Mayo
Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota who wasn’t involved in the statement.
“Parents do not understand or are oblivious to the gravity of second
and third hand smoke exposure and possible effects,” Joshi added by
email. “This may be related to their level of education, access to
health care and role modeling in the community.”
Children are more likely to become smokers themselves if their
parents smoke.
Besides impacting heart function by causing damage to arteries,
exposure to secondhand smoke has been associated with other
cardiovascular risk factors including obesity, high cholesterol, and
insulin resistance – which is linked to diabetes.
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While doctors have warned parents about the dangers of second-hand
smoke for years, recent research has helped explain why this can be
dangerous for kids, the statement authors note.
Chemicals in secondhand smoke can cause changes to blood flow, blood
vessels, blood pressure and heart rhythm.
Children are especially vulnerable to secondhand smoke exposure in
part because they cannot control tobacco use in their surroundings,
and they appear to be particularly susceptible physically to the
smoke’s effects.
But the effects of second-hand smoke may be difficult for parents to
see while children are young, said Dr. Annie Lintzenich Andrews, a
pediatrics researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina
who wasn’t involved in the statement.
“Avoidance of secondhand smoke exposure might not be on the top of
many parents’ list of priorities due to so many competing daily
stressors like getting kids to school, paying the bills, supplying
nutritious meals,” Andrews said by email.
“Also, there are often not immediate, tangible negative consequences
to secondhand smoke exposure in children making it difficult for
parents to appreciate the risks it poses to their children,” Andrews
added.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1q3uqj1 Circulation, online September 12,
2016.
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