Posts Tagged ‘secondhand’
Secondhand smoke risks hardened arteries among children
Frequent exposure to environmental tobacco smoke among 13-year-olds is associated with an increased risk of future blood vessel hardening and greater risks of other heart disease factors, according to new research published in…a journal of the American Heart Association.
The study of 494 children showed that those with higher levels of exposure to secondhand smoke from ages 8 to 13 had, by age 13, significantly increased blood vessel wall thickness and functioning problems, both of which are precursors to arterial structural changes and hardening…
“Although previous research has found that passive smoke may be harmful for blood vessels among adults, we did not know until this study that these specific effects also happen among children and adolescents,” said Katariina Kallio, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study…
The research adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that secondhand smoke has objectively measurable effects on children’s heart health…
“These findings suggest that children should not face exposure to tobacco smoke at all,” Kallio said. “Even a little exposure to tobacco smoke may be harmful for blood vessels. We need to provide children a smoke-free environment.”
Smokers are among the most egregious of selfish human beings. They will squash their butts on the parlor floor or in the bowl of a spoon remaining at the dinner table. If no one is keeping an eye on them.
As for questions of consideration of other folks who reject their silly and self-destructive habit, nothing is as important as their freedom to kill themselves over a burning herb providing profit to some of the least principled corporations on this planet.
If their friends and family must also die – so be it.
Ban smoking in public places = significant drop in heart attacks
The ban on smoking in public places, such as bars and restaurants, has been one of the greatest public health debates of the early 21st century. Now, two large studies suggest that communities that pass laws to curb secondhand smoke get a big payoff — a drop in heart attacks.
Overall, American, Canadian, and European cities that have implemented smoking bans had an average of 17 percent fewer heart attacks in the first year, compared with communities who had not taken such measures.
Then, each year after implementing smoking bans (at least for the first three years, the longest period studied), smoke-free communities have an average 26 percent decline in heart attacks, compared with those areas that still allow smokers to light up in public places…
How harmful is secondhand smoke? Nonsmokers have a 25 percent to 30 percent higher risk of heart attack if they inhale smoke at home or at work, and smoke has been shown to affect heart health within minutes, says Dr. David Meyers.
“We can measure chemical changes within 20 minutes,” he says. “The changes that occur primarily involve the clotting system. Basically, exposure to smoke makes your blood sticky and real clot-y and that’s what causes heart attacks.”
While this health effect is well established, it has not been clear if banning smoking could help reduce heart attacks, he says.
“We know that if you expose somebody, it’s bad,” says Meyers. “How about if you ban the exposure — will that make any difference? So that end of the logic had to be looked at, and now we can say, absolutely.”
RTFA. Anyone who still needs convincing – well, I worry about their ability to perceive the realities around them.
Both my parents died of smoking-related illness. I was ordinary enough in my own habits to start smoking at the age of 12. When I quit at 22, I was smoking 2½ packs a day. Fortunately, that was a long, long time ago. 
All it took was looking around and realizing that people who smoked had more illnesses of every kind.
Tobacco smoke residues in over half of non-smoking New Yorkers
More than half of non-smoking New Yorkers have elevated levels of cotinine in their blood — meaning that they were recently exposed to toxic second-hand smoke in concentrations high enough to leave residues in the body. Cotinine, a by-product of nicotine breakdown, is not harmful itself but signals exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
A Health Department study, published online this week in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, shows that 57% of adult non-smoking New Yorkers (2.5 million) have elevated cotinine levels, compared to 45% of non-smoking adults nationwide — a finding that may reflect the city’s dense, urban character. Second-hand smoke contains many harmful chemicals. It is known to cause cancer and heart disease in adults, as well as serious health problems for children.
The data come from the New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted in 2004, one year after New York City’s smoke-free air law took effect. Although the law protects non-smokers from the dangers of second-hand smoke at work and in some public places, this study shows that many non-smokers are not fully protected. Creating a smoke-free home is the most important step that New Yorkers can take to protect their families…
“The study provides more evidence of the pervasiveness of second-hand smoke,” said Jennifer Ellis, PhD, a former Health Department epidemiologist and the study’s lead author. “It’s not clear why New Yorkers experience more exposure, despite the city’s relatively low smoking rate. It may be that living and working in close quarters with one another puts us at higher risk.”
One thing I’m happiest about – where I live – is clean air. Not that we don’t have dust storms in the spring but, in general, the air we breathe in northern New Mexico is free from urban pollutants.
Especially cigarette smoke during my weekly trips to town and civilization.
