Tobacco smoke exposure can impact adolescents’ health, make them ill

Exposure to tobacco smoke can drastically impact teenagers’ health. A University of Cincinnati study found that teens exposed to tobacco smoke were at higher risk of having respiratory symptoms, such as shortness of breath and a dry cough at night. It also found that smoke-exposed teens were more likely to seek treatment at an urgent care or hospital emergency department. “There is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure,” said Ashley Merianos, the lead author of the study. “Even a small amount of exposure can lead to more emergency department visits and…

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Grandparents’ Exposure To This Plastic Chemical Could Up Autism Risk In Kids

Your exposure to a plastic chemical can affect the communications skills of your grandchildren, says a study over mice that found a link between early exposure to the chemical and the risk of autism. Bisphenol A is an endocrine disrupting chemical used in consumer products such as water bottles, dental composites among others and is known to affect the crucial stages of development. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, showed that mice pups whose grandparents were exposed to BPA, demonstrated different vocalisation patterns. “There are potential concerns that…

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Prenatal Alcohol Exposure to Alcohol and Stress May Make Kids Aggressive

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is a debatable topic. While some believe that you must completely avoid alcohol and also smoking cigarettes during pregnancy, some say that an occasional drink may be alright. But a new study, conducted by researchers from King’s College London and the University of Bristol, clearly indicates that consumption of alcohol, smoking cigarettes and exposure to stress can cause certain epigenetic changes at birth that can make the child more prone to aggressive behaviour. Epigenetic changes refer to external modifications to the DNA that turn the genes ‘on’ or…

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Nicotine Exposure During Pregnancy Could Trigger Hearing Problems in Kids

Health experts have highlighted this fact several times before that smoking during pregnancy can lead to serious health issues for the growing baby inside. Nicotine is a potent chemical with the capability of causing havoc for kids and adults alike. The phase of pregnancy is an important phase, where several factors must be kept in mind in order to secure the life of the mother and growing baby. As much difficult as it may be to give up smoking, since nicotine is highly addictive, there is no other way to…

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Tobacco Exposure Ups Behavioural Issues, Dropout Rates in Children

Children exposed to tobacco smoke in early childhood adopt anti-social behaviour, engage in proactive and reactive aggression, and face conduct problems at school, even drop out at age 12, a research has showed. Exposure to tobacco smoke is toxic to the developing brain at a time when it is most vulnerable to environment input, the researchers said. “Young children have little control over their exposure to household tobacco smoke, which is considered toxic to the brain at a time when its development is exponential,” said lead author and Professor Linda…

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Unknown Exposure To Second-Hand Smoke May Cause Early Death

US researchers have identified a new biomarker which revealed that known and unknown exposure to second-hand smoke may lead to an increased risk of mortality in non-smokers. Serum cotinine — a metabolite of nicotine — when used as a biological marker of exposure to second-hand smoke was found to have associations to overall and cause-specific mortality in non-smokers. Increased levels of serum cotinine in blood were significantly also associated with all types of cancers, and heart disease, the researchers said. “The study found that non-smokers are exposed to second-hand smoke…

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