Children Regularly Exposed to Tobacco Smoke More Likely to Develop Emphysema

According to a new study, children who are regularly exposed to tobacco smoke at home were more likely to develop early emphysema in adulthood. This finding by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health suggests that the lungs may not recover completely from the effects of early-life exposures to tobacco smoke (ETS). The study was published in the December 2009 American Journal of Epidemiology.

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Study Examines Ethnic Impact on Susceptibility to Smoke

An individual’s attitude toward smoking plays a significant role in whether or not they actually take up the habit. This is especially true for non-smoking Mexican-American adolescents, according to researchers at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

A longitudinal study showed that only 15 percent of those committed to never smoking at the start of the study experimented with cigarettes over three years of follow-up. At the same time, 45 percent of those who were deemed to be susceptible at first went on to experiment.

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Tobacco Smoke Linked to Behavioral Problems in Children

Children who are exposed to tobacco smoke during their early development can develop abnormal behavioral symptoms by the age of 10. This association was discovered using data from the GINI-plus study by scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München in collaboration with colleagues of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Technische Universität München, and Marienhospital Wesel. The scientists observed that the impact of tobacco smoke was especially detrimental during gestation. The results of the study have been published in the current online issue of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

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Quitting Smoking Can Reverse Asthma-Inducing Changes in Lungs

Research from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands suggests that asthmatic smokers may be able to reverse some of the damage to their lungs that exacerbates asthmatic symptoms just by quitting smoking. The research will be published in the December 15 issue of the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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Movies Promote Smoking among Mexican-American Youths

The more movie scenes of smoking they watch, the more likely Mexican-American youths are to experiment with smoking, researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Dartmouth College report in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

Science Daily reports that the three-year prospective study of 1,286 Mexican-American adolescents showed that the percentage of new experimenters increased from about 5 percent among those with little or no exposure to nearly 30 percent for those who saw up to 600 smoking scenes. The effect was dose-dependent, with experimentation linearly correlated with movie exposure.

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Nicotine Addiction Study Highlights Potential Insight to Drug Addiction

While a smoking habit is not always closely associated with a drug or alcohol problem, it can still be an addiction that poses a health risk to a person. With the increased information pertaining to the adverse affect of smoking, millions struggle every day to quit, often overcome by their addiction to nicotine.

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Just One Cigarette Can Affect Young Adults’ Health

Even one cigarette has serious adverse effects on young adults, according to research presented by Dr. Stella Daskalopoulou at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

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Smoking Cessation Drug Not Linked to Self-Harm or Depression

According to new research on bmj.com, there is no strong evidence that the popular smoking cessation drug varenicline increases the risk of self-harm or depression compared to other cessation products.

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Parents Play Key Role in Whether Children Start Smoking

New evidence shows that parents play a key role in whether their adolescent children who experiment with tobacco become daily smokers before they graduate from high school.

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Secondhand Smoke Exposure an Issue for College Students

Secondhand smoke (SHS) has long been identified as one of the potential dangers of smoking. A number of college students have taken up the habit of smoking cigarettes as a way to thwart the stress associated with college life. Unfortunately, this habit can have significant detrimental affects on those around it.

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