Complain about a product or service

Secondhand Smoke May Hurt Children More Than Adults

Younger children at particular risk for long-term damage

October 22, 2008

• Supreme Court Clears Suits Over Light Cigarettes • Adult Smoking Rates Show Slight Drop • Racial Disparities Increasing For Cancers Unrelated to Smoking • Not Enough Doctors Trained to Help Smokers Quit • Secondhand Smoke May Hurt Children More Than Adults • Bank Stopped From Enabling Online Tobacco Sales • Study Finds Big Tobacco Exploiting Ad Ban Loophole • Do Tobacco Firms Cut Menthol to Hook Young Smokers? • Wegmans, DeCicco Markets Ditch Cigarettes • Secondhand Smoke Linked To Hospital Admissions • Anti-Smoking Drug Chantix Linked to Seizures, Heart Problems, Diabetes • Congress Moves To Tighten Tobacco Controls • Toddlers Affected Most By Secondhand Smoke at Home • Tobacco 'Innovations' Aimed at Younger Smokers • Heart Attacks Drop After Smoking Ban in Italy • Physician Highlights Hazards of Bartending • Anti-Smoking Suit Targets Restaurants • Smoking Linked to Sleep Disturbances • States Challenge R.J. Reynolds Cigarette Ads • Smokers Cost Taxpayers $10 Billion • Secondhand Smoke a Serious Health Risk • Would Women Rather Smoke Than Get Fat? • Kroger Agrees to Curb Tobacco Sales to Minors • No More Free Smokes in California • Second-Hand Smoke Tied to Lower Test Scores • Secondhand Smoke Bad for Pets • Researchers Link Smoking To Dementia • Smoking Turns On Genes -- Permanently • Bill Targets Online Cigarette Sellers • UK Tries Nicotine Patches on Pregnant Smokers • More Toxins Found in Smokers' Children --- • More about Smoking & Health

Health experts long ago concluded that breathing in second-hand cigarette smoke is bad for you. Now, a new study suggests it may be worse for children than adults.

Branden E. Yee, M.D., and his research group from the anesthesiology department at Tufts Medical Center studied 200 children between the ages of one and 12 to assess their levels of carboxyhemoglobin, which is formed when carbon monoxide binds to the blood.

Carbon monoxide binds to blood 200 times more easily than oxygen, but the resultant carboxyhemoglobin is unable to deliver oxygen to body tissue, including that of the brain, heart and muscle.

The exact ramifications of high levels of carboxyhemoglobin are not entirely known, but potential consequences of long-term, low level exposure include changes in heart and lung tissue.

Although household and environmental factors such as stoves, heaters and automobiles are potential sources of carbon monoxide exposure, the most likely source of elevated carboxyhemoglobin overall is second-hand cigarette smoke, the researchers said.

And according to Dr. Yee's study, the younger the child, the greater the potential level of exposure.

"The physiology of children--especially the youngest--is different from that of adults," said Yee. "Children breathe in a greater amount of air per body weight compared to adults."

Another possible explanation for the youngest children having the highest levels of carboxyhemoglobin is that they are completely reliant on their parents and are thus exposed to everything their parents are, including air pollution, cooking exhaust and, of course, second-hand smoke, Yee said.

He stressed the importance of education in helping to change parents' smoking habits, especially around children. He thinks that the right blend of physician intervention and technology could have positive benefits.

"The simple, non-invasive device we used to test exposure may encourage health care providers to ask further questions of children and their parents regarding smoking habits," said Yee. "Personalized education coupled with the act of physically showing a parent the carboxyhemoglobin measurement in his or her child's blood may provide a graphic and concrete message to that parent."

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |