Watching R-Rated Movies Boosts Kids’ Smoking Risk
Children who are allowed to watch R-rated movies are more likely to smoke, say researchers who analyzed data from a four-year study of more than 1,200 Massachusetts youngsters. “We don’t know why this is so. It may have to do with a parenting style that is permissive of activities that are not age-appropriate. Or it may be an outcome of all the smoking scenes in R-rated movies,” lead... Read more
Smoking in pregnancy cuts blood flow to the fetus
Smoking during pregnancy reduces blood flow to the developing fetus and, in turn, retards growth, new research suggests. “We have known for 50 years that infants born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy have lower birth weights,” lead investigator Dr. Malene Rohr Andersen, from Gentoffe University Hospital in Hellerup, Denmark, said in a statement. “But this study provides a possible... Read more
Resolving to Break an Addictive Habit?
No matter the addiction — drugs, gambling, shopping, smoking, alcohol or more — people who want to kick their habit in the new year might find help in a new Harvard University publication. “Overcoming Addiction: Paths toward recovery” offers guidance for breaking unwanted addictive habits. The advice applies universally, because what all addictions have in common, the Harvard... Read more
Gene Variant Tied to Smokers’ Risk of Lung Cancer
People may face an increased risk of lung cancer if they have a gene variant that metabolizes the most potent of cigarette smoke carcinogens, a new study says. The ABCB1 and ABCC1 genes normally help protect the lungs by removing inhaled toxins. Specifically, they act on tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) — a cigarette smoke component shown to cause... Read more
Lung cancer deadliest tumor for Australia women
Lung cancer has overtaken breast cancer as the biggest killer of Australian women with cancer, as females who started smoking in the 1970s and 1980s as they gained equal rights with men are diagnosed with the deadly disease. More than 50 Australian women lost their battle with lung cancer every week in 2005 and the number will rise to almost 65 female deaths a week in 2010, said a report released on... Read more
Obesity risk might turn teens off smoking
Telling teenage would-be smokers that lighting up may make them fat down the road may be a more effective deterrent than harping on the risks of heart disease and cancer from smoking, hints research published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Public Health. In a study, Finnish researchers found that smoking during adolescence strongly predicted the development of abdominal obesity in adulthood,... Read more
Parent Smoking During Pregnancy Raises Kids’ Heart Risks
Damage to the arteries of children of smokers can be detected in the early decades of their lives, a new Dutch study finds. “Smoking in families is harmful for children, including their cardiovascular system, as was found in many other studies,” said research leader Dr. Cuno S.P.M. Uiterwaal, an associate professor of clinical epidemiology at the University Medical Center in Utrecht. “This... Read more
Is Your Child More Prone to Ear Infections?
Ear infections are common in children, and may occur for a variety of reasons. But certain factors — both environmental and beyond anyone’s control — may increase your child’s risk. The American Academy of Family Physicians lists these common risk factors for ear infections in children: Being around cigarette smoking. Having had ear infections before, frequent colds, or having... Read more
Smokers’ Homes More Likely to House Hungry Kids
Children who live with adult smokers are more likely to be underfed and undernourished, a new study finds. The same is true for adult members of smoking households, but children feel the impact the most, said study author Dr. Michael Weitzman, chairman of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine. “We know that there are long-term consequences of food insecurity for children. They... Read more