Secondhand smoke causes measurable damage to a child's learning ability, affecting reading, math and reasoning, as reported recently by researchers. Many such children are affected by secondhand smoke, and WHO estimates that half of the world's children, more than 700 million, are now exposed to secondhand smoke.
Secondhand smoke causes measurable damage to a child's learning ability, affecting reading, math and reasoning, as reported recently by researchers. Many such children are affected by secondhand smoke, and WHO estimates that half of the world's children, more than 700 million, are now exposed to secondhand smoke.
The researchers from the Children's Environmental Health Centre at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital studied data taken between 1988 and 1994 for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the National Centre for Health Statistics. The survey collected information about the health and diet of the people. As part of the survey, people gave blood and filled out detailed questionnaires. Some children took the tests for learning ability.
The team looked specifically for levels of cotinine, a substance produced when nicotine is broken down by the body. Cotinine, found in blood, urine, saliva and hair, is considered the best marker of the exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
The level of cotinine found in the blood of the children was inversely proportional to their average reading, math and reasoning scores. Their reading ability was the most adversely affected. Other studies have revealed that children who live with someone who smokes less than a pack a day have less than 1 nanogram per millilitre of cotinine in their blood. But this is enough to affect their learning ability. The researchers took into account the education levels and income of the parents of the children and still saw the effect, suggesting that it is indeed something in the smoke that is affecting these children.
It is difficult to protect children from tobacco smoke. Some parents reported that they only smoked outside and there was a definite decrease in cotinine levels in their children but it was still present. This study focuses on the need to provide public health standards to protect children from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
The researchers from the Children's Environmental Health Centre at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital studied data taken between 1988 and 1994 for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the National Centre for Health Statistics. The survey collected information about the health and diet of the people. As part of the survey, people gave blood and filled out detailed questionnaires. Some children took the tests for learning ability.
The team looked specifically for levels of cotinine, a substance produced when nicotine is broken down by the body. Cotinine, found in blood, urine, saliva and hair, is considered the best marker of the exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
The level of cotinine found in the blood of the children was inversely proportional to their average reading, math and reasoning scores. Their reading ability was the most adversely affected. Other studies have revealed that children who live with someone who smokes less than a pack a day have less than 1 nanogram per millilitre of cotinine in their blood. But this is enough to affect their learning ability. The researchers took into account the education levels and income of the parents of the children and still saw the effect, suggesting that it is indeed something in the smoke that is affecting these children.
It is difficult to protect children from tobacco smoke. Some parents reported that they only smoked outside and there was a definite decrease in cotinine levels in their children but it was still present. This study focuses on the need to provide public health standards to protect children from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
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