Friday, 04/17/2026
Health
Second-hand smoke can hurt kids years after exposure
Update: 15/09/2016
Even though the harms of exposing kids to cigarette\r\nsmoke are well known – asthma and lung infections among them – many children\r\nstill breathe this smoke at home or in public places or while riding in cars or\r\nbuses, noted Dr. Geetha Raghuver, lead author of the statement.
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“Minority children and those from poor backgrounds\r\nare exposed more often,†Raghuver said by email.
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“Cigarette smoking is very addicting and a stress\r\nreliever; this along with easy access is likely the reason that it is still\r\nprevalent,†she added.
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Overall, an estimated 24 million nonsmoking children\r\nand youths are exposed to secondhand smoke in the U.S., largely because of\r\nparents who smoke.
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That translates to four in 10 school-aged children\r\nand one in three adolescents, Raghuver and colleagues note in the statement\r\npublished in the journal Circulation.
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In 2012, researchers found a nicotine byproduct\r\ncalled cotinine in blood samples from nearly 41 percent of U.S. children ages 3\r\nto 11, and in 34 percent of kids ages 12 to 19 — despite declines over recent\r\ndecades in both adult smoking rates and the proportions of young children and\r\nadolescents living with smokers.
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Poor and non-white kids were disproportionately\r\naffected.
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Those blood tests found 68 percent of low-income\r\nchildren and 43 percent of minority youth were exposed to second-hand smoke.\r\nWhile Hispanic children were slightly more likely to be exposed than white\r\nkids, the problem was most pronounced among black children.
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“It is a socio-economic and a health care associated\r\ndisparity issue,†said Dr. Avni Joshi, a pediatrics researcher at the Mayo\r\nClinic in Rochester, Minnesota who wasn’t involved in the statement.
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“Parents do not understand or are oblivious to the\r\ngravity of second and third hand smoke exposure and possible effects,†Joshi\r\nadded by email. “This may be related to their level of education, access to\r\nhealth care and role modeling in the community.â€
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Children are more likely to become smokers\r\nthemselves if their parents smoke.
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Besides impacting heart function by causing damage\r\nto arteries, exposure to secondhand smoke has been associated with other\r\ncardiovascular risk factors including obesity, high cholesterol, and insulin\r\nresistance – which is linked to diabetes.
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While doctors have warned parents about the dangers\r\nof second-hand smoke for years, recent research has helped explain why this can\r\nbe dangerous for kids, the statement authors note.
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Chemicals in secondhand smoke can cause changes to\r\nblood flow, blood vessels, blood pressure and heart rhythm.
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Children are especially vulnerable to secondhand\r\nsmoke exposure in part because they cannot control tobacco use in their\r\nsurroundings, and they appear to be particularly susceptible physically to the\r\nsmoke’s effects.
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But the effects of second-hand smoke may be\r\ndifficult for parents to see while children are young, said Dr. Annie\r\nLintzenich Andrews, a pediatrics researcher at the Medical University of South\r\nCarolina who wasn’t involved in the statement.
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“Avoidance of\r\nsecondhand smoke exposure might not be on the top of many parents’ list of\r\npriorities due to so many competing daily stressors like getting kids to\r\nschool, paying the bills, supplying nutritious meals,†Andrews said by email.
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“Also, there are often not immediate, tangible\r\nnegative consequences to secondhand smoke exposure in children making it\r\ndifficult for parents to appreciate the risks it poses to their children,â€\r\nAndrews added.
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SOURCE: bit.ly/1q3uqj1 Circulation, online September\r\n12, 2016.
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Lisa\r\nRapaport