 |
|
|
|
July 11th, 2011
12:01 AM ET
Secondhand smoke boosts kids' ADHD, learning disability risksTwo new studies from the American Academy of Pediatrics look at how exposure to secondhand smoke affects American youths' learning behaviors and their attitudes toward smoking. The first found that children exposed to secondhand smoke in the home had a 50% increased risk of developing two or more childhood neurobehavioral disorders compared with children who were not exposed at home. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and the Tobacco Free Research Institute in Dublin, Ireland used 2007 data from the CDC and the National Center for Health Statistics. They estimated that nearly 5 million children younger than 12 are exposed to secondhand smoke at home and up to 8% of them – or more than 274,000 children – suffer from learning disabilities like ADHD and other behavioral disorders. “[The findings] underscore the health burden of childhood neurobehavioral disorders that may be attributable to secondhand smoke exposure in homes in the States,” the study authors concluded. “This is particularly significant with regard to the potential burden of pediatric mental health care on an overextended health care system, a problem that could be dramatically reduced if voluntary smoke-free home policies were widely adopted,” they added. The annual medical cost associated with treating a child with a neurobehavioral disorder is about $14,576 per individual, or a national total of about $9.2 billion each year, the report found. On a more positive note, a second study looked at children 8 to 13 who lived in households with at least one adult smoker, and found that those who described the smell of cigarette smoke as “unpleasant” or “gross” were 78% less likely to start the habit than 8- to 13-year-olds who had a more passive reaction to the smell. “Experiencing secondhand smoke as 'unpleasant or gross' is protective against smoking susceptibility, suggesting that it may reflect a mechanism for targeted prevention efforts,” the authors say. Still, a recent report from the National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse found that nine out of 10 people who meet the clinical criteria for substance abuse began smoking, drinking or using other drugs before they turned 18, and that this is a big concern in teens as they are more likely to try risky things while their brains are still developing. Experts say setting a good example by not smoking and getting more involved in your child’s activities are among the many things parents can do to help prevent children from smoking. Teenagers also tend to be vain, and parents are encouraged to highlight some of the negative effects of smoking, like bad breath and bad skin. The American Lung Association also provides a list of tips for parents on how to talk to children about smoking and to help them quit if they have already started. CNN's Sabriya Rice contributed to this report.
Next entry »An agonizing secret: One woman's story of loss
« Previous entryTri Challenge: Fitness becomes a family affair
|
  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
 |
|
|
|
Man...they will blame anything and everything on smoking! What about cars, nuclear power plants, acid rain, deforestation,exhaust...get real!!! People have been smoking for decades and yes it's not good for you, but the only reason it's not acceptable now is because of the government's need to pass the buck...AGAIN! Why don't you ban drinking? That causes just as much if not more deaths and bodily damage then smoking does. I think I will start the new campaign for that. Quit targeting one thing, target all of the culprits!!!
This is a scientific study, not just someone going "smoking did it cause i said so".
smoking for decades? Try centuries.
kayla – You may be right. Cars, nuclear power plants, acid rain IN THE HOME, may indeed cause ADHD. Fortunately, there isn't car exhaust, acid rain, and nuke plants IN THE HOME. Now, if we can get smoking out of kids' homes, we can reduce the risk for ADHD in our children.
@ Kayla – both of my parents smoked. I have ADD and does my sister...50% of my parents children have it. ADD is hereditary, but niether of my parents had it.
People have been smoking forever, but the toxic chemicals carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia are present in mass amounts now. That is just a few of the several hundred additives. As I wait for a plane to visit my uncle, who is dying from lung/liver cancer and tumor on his aorta valve, don't pretend it doesn't affect another person in the room.
Sugar causes behavioral issues too.
The only one that can manage a healthy lifestyle for you and your family is you – don't have faith in large corporations, or government. Your best interest, is their least interest.
What about third-had smoke? Isn't it the real cause of obesity?
"AGAIN! Why don't you ban drinking?"
@ Kyla, let me remind you that the article is about (smoking) adult's vice(s) that affects children's health at home.
Let me further remind you that drinking will not affect your children's health even if you'll drink the whole truck of beer. Except you would physically or emotionally abuse them when you get drunk, but that would be another case.
"AGAIN! Why don't you ban drinking?"
Kyla, can I ask you something? Is there any such thing as second hand drink?
I agrre. and if parents would start cooking meals again(Not poscessed and junk food) most of these kids would be fixed.
Bravo Kayla - my exact reaction.
"Scientific study"...what a laugh.
What a bunch of malarky..... They'll say anything these days.. There is no proof. Poor parenting is what causes ADHD.
How ignorant of you!!! Poor parenting doesn't cause ADHD/ADD. It is genetic. Anyone living with a child/children with the disorder will tell you this. These kids are extremely difficult to parent. They are obstinate beyond belief and not because they purposely want to be. They CAN"T help it. To an outsider, it's the parenting or the disipline that they see. Smoking is nasty and possibly there might be a link. But, there is also a link to diet (gluten, that's in everything). Patience is required with these kids and it's pretty tough sometimes.
@Amber If your statement of 'ADHD is genetic' is true, then that just made this article another piece of propaganda by the lobbyists in Washington who are strongarming congress into doing their bidding.
AMBER
How is it we did NOT have ADHD back in the 1970s??? this is a lot of bull – how many kids take ADHD meds??? The meds are worse than the smoke-
You dumbbell, duke, we DID have ADHD in the 70s, and long before that. Just because it was not named ADHD doesn't mean that people didn't have extreme difficulty sitting still, focusing on a task, interacting with other socially, or any of the other behaviors now known to be part of the diagnosis.
Jesus, there are a lot of idiots in this world.
What utter nonsense. Back in the sixties there were about 50 kids in a classroom, and every single boy was sitting in front. Give me a boy and I will give you a child that cannot sit still, looks outside constantly and is a total pain in the rear. Boys need toys to play with and action constantly. Look at grown men they are still playing with their toys (cars, ATVs, campers, etc) well into their twilight years. Teachers nowadays want the kids to be still, quiet and 100 percent obedient. Good luck with that, with time girls have taken on the behaviour of boys. They no longer want to be prissy little girls. Simple as that. They would have put every boy in my class back in the 50's on Ritalin. Utter crap, I would like the truth not garbage such as this report.
Another numbskull who doesn't know shyte from shinola about ADHD. Educate yourself, moron. ADHD is not simply a matter of being unable to sit still.
I'd go on to explain more about the issue, Loser Louise, but it would be a waste of time and effort.
Katie,I agree
Duke you are so right
That is all.
Wait, if kids think cigarette smoke smells bad, they're less likely to pick up the habit? No way!
Healthcare is not subject to normal market forces! Anything that you have to buy at any random moment in order not to die is not something to which a rational supply/demand calculus can apply. Check out "Penny Health" articles on how to reduce the cost of insurance.
What a crock...the anti-smoking lobby will stop at nothing. ADHD is baloney, just kids that have parents who won't / can't control them. Blaming cigarettes is about as ridiculous as it gets...if you can't control your kids, don't have them in the first place.
If their goal was to blame cigarettes without proof then they'd claim a much higher percentage of kids with ADHD than 8%. It doesn't happen to every kid. But it does appear to happen.
Dito
Who doesn't realize it's 'ditto'. Moron.
ADHD is baloney? Why don't you do some research before you make such an ignorant statement. Also, why don't you work with kids who have ADHD. Finally, parenting has nothing to do with the disorder. It's genetic and neurological.
I don't smoke and neither of my parents smoke – and I still think the way this study was presented in this article leaves WAY more questions than answers. For one thing, if only 8% of the 5 million kids exposed to second hand smoke are likely to develop ADHD or some other behavioral disorder, then what percentage of kids who are NOT exposed to second hand smoke in the home are likely to develop behavioral disorders? Unless it is substantially less than 8%, then this study really doesn't say anything. Now if they are trying to say that kids exposed to second hand smoke are 8% more likely to develop behavioral disorders than kids who are not exposed to second smoke, that might be something – but they would need to rewrite this article to say so.
Not only that, but another problem is that the study didn't look at:
Is it possible that ADHD people are more likely to smoke in the first place, and therefore, since ADHD is highly genetic, that their kids are more likely to have ADHD? This study says nothing about the likelihood of smoker parents to have ADHD.
LOL at that headline. They should probably have used "raises" instead of "lifts."
Smoking and addiction to nicotine is more common for people who already have ADHD than it is for the rest of the population...Many people with ADHD unwittingly use nicotine to self medicate themselves because the drug has calming effects...This suggests to me that heredity...rather than environment is the culprit here.
Yes, I agree. How can you eliminate that variable in any study. Only study families where the children are adopted? Then you must trace all adopted childrens biological parents and see if they smoke. I think that this study, given what they reported on, is a crock.
Seems every week a new headline comes out stating smoking increases the risk of some other ailment. Next week's: "Scientists link smoking to be the cause of all human depravity."
This article says diddly squat about the science behind the findings.
This whole thing becomes more and more ridiculous. Second hand smoke is nothing else, but 1/5000th of regular cigarette smoke. Nobody could show me any substance, which is harmful in 1/5000th of dose and wouldn't kill in full dose after a single usage. But society accepted it, despite true scientific proof, so let it be. But then comes ADHD, an illness which is purely a 20th century "discovery". I seriously doubt that it is a real illness. Putting this two together is downright ridiculous. We have too many so called "scientists/researchers" who get money, so they have to come up with SOMETHING time to time to justify their existence. And they do with things like this. I realized that when once I bought a CD which contained the summary of medical research in a 5 years period. It contained over half a million "research subject". Over half a million REAL research in five years? Give me a break, who believes that? I sure don't.
here, here!
Any of you trolls for smoking ever read any facts about smoking? If you like bad breath, ugly teeth, wrinkled skin, the unability to breathe on your own, weezing, deep coughs, stinky yellow fingers, throat and lung cancer, good for you and your freedom of choice. You may think now your invulnerable but when you are 50+ and experiancing all the normal complications associated with ciggerettes the researchers can tell you I told you so.
Im 23 and have smoked since I was 16...I have none of those things. AT ALL.Yellow teeth if from not brushing not the tobacco...
Yeah, you're 23. Wait until your 43 and tell me that cigarettes have had no effect on your health.
Oh, Ok...You should put those ideas to the FDA for a new set of faked photos to put on cigarette packs. Oh, yes....those photos are faked.
Get back to us when you've turned 30 and look ten years older. Smoking makes you wrinkle more and earlier.
@chr my in-laws smoke and they smell absolutely horrible even right after a bath because their clothes already smell like smoke. When I come home from their house I have to shower to get it off of me including my hair and even then I can smell the smoke wafting off of my purse from several feet away. It's like we were just next to a bomb fire except it smells even worse. Also, when they moved we took the pictures down and there were white squares where the pictures used to be (after just 3 years). The walls all had a yellow layer on them. The TV they gave us had yellow sticky stuff all over it which I had to clean forever to get off. My husband thought everyone was crazy when they said smokers smell until after he moved out of their home for awhile. He used to mock me and say I was crazy. Now he complains that his eyes sting from the smoke when we visit and eventually has to go outside to get clean air. And he grew up with it from birth! His sister's children are over at his parents house regularly and they pretty much constantly have runny noses and congestion. I don't think it causes the runny noses or congestion but I do think it prolongs how long it takes for them to get better! I don't know if it causes ADHD but it definitely cannot be healthy and you do smell. Also, his mother is 6 years younger than mine but looks older. She has deep wrinkles around her mouth.
Also if that yellow stuff builds up on walls and tv's, what does it do to little kids lungs? The walls obviously weren 't directly smoking a cigarette.
I'm 54, smoked since I was 16 and healthy as a horse. Never been in better shape in my life.
Cigarettes should be outlawed!!! It's no secret, cigarette smoke kills people. It's not good for your health. I know people will argue that they should be able to put whatever they want into their bodies. The problem is that second hand smoke affects people who are not choosing to put those harmful chemicals into their bodies. If smokers can't smoke in a responsible way, assuring that only they are breathing in the toxic chemicals, the outlaw cigarettes.
With that logic, let's outlaw everything, because litterally everything can kill you. The sun, cheese, shell fish, electricity. Let's outlaw children, too. Make those little turds illegal.
I'll agree to that on the day they also outlaw all alcohol...
Smokers who smoke around children should be forced to breathe in toxic chemicals from factories. See how they like it. LOL
They already breath in those toxic chemicals, smart guy. They seem to like it just fine.
Sorry, but some moron who thinks 'breathe' and 'breath' are the same thing isn't qualified to give any medical opinions. Go back to 3rd grade and start over, dingbat.
The image used for this article is one of the worst examples of photo illustration that I can recall seeing. It is awful on so many levels.
lol – i was thinking the same thing
This is such BS....my mom quit smoking years before she had me and I still had ADHD growing up.
Get an education, you twit. Your anecdotal experience does not mean squat. What matters is what a study of MANY individuals show statistically.
Having ADHD isn't an excuse for your lack of education.
I highly doubt it is the cigarette smoke causing the disorder. Cigarette smoking parents who smoke in cars and in the same rooms with their children are more likely to not care very much about their bodies. These pregnant women are probably the most likely to reach for a diet mountain dew and a bowl of ice cream during pregnancy for lunch instead of an organic salad. Smokers are more sedentary. They don't get as much exercise. The majority of people who smoke (not all mind you) tend to have little education and are working in jobs where they are exposed to more chemicals and dangerous conditions and one or more of the parents are bringing it home to children on their clothing. They are least likely to be concerned about chemical exposure. It is an entire lifestyle that puts their children at risk plus genetic tendencies. Not a pretty picture.
Melissa,
Your blanket generalization of smokers is really disturbing. Unfortunately many people I know smoke. Not a single one of them has a sedentary life style. One is a mechanic and works 6 days a week. Another is a nurse. Let's see another is a chef. Then there is the guy that rides his bike to the office everyday. I could go on and on. When my nurse friend was pregnant she didn't smoke. She also only eats organics and besides smoking, lives an extremely healthy life style. Most of those people are also fairly well educated. My mechanic friend would be the least college educated of the bunch, but besides being a mechanic, he happens to be a former marine. Not a stupid person what so ever. Maybe you should think before you post next time huh?
Jami,
Do any of your educated smoking friends hold their child on their laps while they smoke or smoke in the car with their children with the windows cracked? You didn't read my post. I know plenty of college kids who smoke. I know a lot of RN's for whatever reason who smoke. I know one fitness trainer who smokes. There are always exceptions to the sedentary smoker rule. I'm not referring to the people who put only themselves at risk. I am referring to those special stupid people. You know who they are. Don't pretend that you don't. The ones we see on the road every day with their cigarette hanging out of their mouth and a baby in the back of the car. The article and my comment are not about smokers but about smokers who expose their children. Maybe you should read next time before you post, eh?
Smoking is on the decline. The junk scientists and apologetic medical experts claim ADAH is on the increase. Data mining (instead of rigorously designed scientific studies) can be used to 'prove' anything.
Lots of folks in these responses defending their right to smoke. I say to smokers: go at it... smoke away ... a way way way long distance away from me, please. And then, don't ask me to contribute to the cost of your healthcare when (notice I didn't say 'if") you contract one of the many long term, expensive diseases related to smoking. Thank-you for your consideration.
Get this DA. lung cancer victims seldom live longer than two years after being diagnosed. If you are trying to make a case that smokers cost more to die than non smokers bark up another tree. Yea you will out live me, but it will be you laying around in the nursing home crapping in your diaper with bed soars for 10 years running up the big bills while your loved ones pray you will go ahead and die to end the suffering and expense for all. Think about it.
Maybe they should blame bad parenting for ADHD. Let boys be boys and play hard but also teach them self control and set limits.
Uh, ADHD also happens in girls.
Correlation, causation.
Learn the difference. This study fails to directly attribute secondhand smoking to ADHD, simply implying there is a correlation.
If kids didn't spend all their spare time indoors this probably wouldn't happen. They need to get outside and play, get some exercise and develop some social skills. Just think, all that fresh air going to waste.
"Secondhand smoke lifts kids' ADHD risk", the first time I read this headline I thought the word lift = relieve.........I immediately thought who in their right mind would think anything positive could come out of the consumption of carcinogens.....Reading comprehension, its not just a symptom......
This is getting ridiculous. AND self serving. It's a good thing Abraham Lincoln didn't use the excuse of growing up in a smoky cabin as an excuse to not make anything of himself.
Where would we be if all those kids who fought WW II for us had opted out because both Mommy and Daddy smoked as they were growing up?
The governments says marijuana does NOT help medical patients.
The Government says 2nd hand smoke contributes to EVERYTHING.
The government says you can't get a 'contact high' sitting in a VW bug, closed windows, when the other 3 people are smoking 'pot' like chimneys.
The study reflects the money and that's the only TRUE thing you can determine from this article.
Though I don't necessarily disagree with the findings of the report, I would like to know what the percentage of these types of illnesses occurring in children is in non-second hand smoke households.
I am curious about a study for this sort of thing for children whose mother either smoked or was exposed to smoke throughout their pregnancy and the rate of ADHD and the like. Basically my ex smoked like a chimeny while pregnant and now my daughter has ADHD. I want to know if there is a correlation.
Quite simply...there is none.
Or it could be that parents who don't give enough of a crap about their children to not smoke around them suck in general when comes to disciplining and moderating their children's behavior. Smoking is still gross though.
This study is flawed. If these researchers had done there background work, they would realize that many undiagnosed ADHD people turn to different forms of stimulants (often subconsciously) in order to "alternatively" treat their ADHD. Smoking (nicotine) as well as coffee drinking are both stimulants commonly present in ADHD people's lives. As a genetically inherited trait, ADHD parents (who may be using cigarettes as an informal treatment) are more likely to produce ADHD children. Therefore, in my opinion, this study is flawed and does not prove a direct correlation of cause and effect between secondhand smoke and ADHD.
ABSOLUTELY AGREED!! These people need to spend their money on something else and quit wasting ppls time!! I dont get how second hand smoke can cause these problems!! Makes me a little grumpy!!
If 8% of kids exposed to second hand smoke will develop ADHD, shouldn't millions of baby boomers, virtually all of whom were constantly exposed to second hand smoke, have ADHD?
It dosn't say that smoking causes ADHD..it says it makes it worse...and for those of you who think ADHD is bad parenting, I pray you never have a child with ADHD. I give my child love,time, understanding and dicipline and he still is unable to controll his emotions.
I'm starting my own research on this subject, did you or your wife do a bunch of acid back in the 70's.
Are you kidding me like actually!! I get that smoking is harmful for anybody but to start blaming disorders on smoking thats RIDICULOUS!! Seriously think its time that they start spending their money on something better then this!! People have smoked for YEARS and YEARS but now all of a sudden in like past 10 yrs its become this HUGE problem and they need to ban it and raise the prices. Yes I understand its harming the person smoking!! However blaming disorders etc on smoking get real!! FInd something better to do with your time!! I dont disagree that people should NEVER smoke in a home with children or in their vehicles thats common sense but to go this far with it lol GET A GRIP on reality!! Go spend money on research that actual helps people!!
Both my parents smoked like chimney's; in the house, in the car, everywhere and NONE of us six kids turned out ADHD. I don't buy any of this crapola about second hand smoke.
Correlation is not causation. People with ADHD are known to self-medicate by smoking. Adults with ADHD are more likely to have children with ADHD This does not mean that adult smoking in the house causes child ADHD.
Wow, more anti-smoking propaganda, when are they going to leave smokers at home. I've read this study, it is an observational behavioral study with no supporting data on the chemistry which would actually cause this stuff to happen. How about the simple fact the any common sense adult knows not to smoke inside as house full of kids, only a idiot or some who doesn't care about his children would do that, so obviously there will be other problems in that household. And secondly, I am 23, and that while this study claims that nine out of ten people with substance abuse problems started smoking and drinking before 18, I can safely say that these days, 8 out of 10 (if not 9) starting smoking cigarettes and drinking before 18 period. This study sounds so worthless its sad.
"Studies" like this are pathetic. It's insulting to real scientific research. Did anyone question the people who are brilliant AND had cigarette smoking parents? I'm sure everyone can find a real world example of why this study is complete nonsense.
I don't smoke cigarettes and they smell annoying, it's true. But I tolerate it. The fabrication of second hand smoke data is not a Government plot. And, it has little to do with concern over public health.
Most people just don't like the smell of cigarettes, so they want it banned. Those are your fellow flag waving intolerant Americans. Stop inventing bizarre Govt. plots for everything. It's your neighbors.
Of course, the greedy and hateful health insurance companies love these BS studies because it gives them another excuse to jack up insurance rates.
This is getting rediculous, if all this crap were true all us kids born in the forties and fifties would be morons. Yet they talk about the decline of education and the increase in mental and emotional problems now that smoking and therefore second hand smoke are on the decline. Personally I think it is all the LSD us boomers did back the 70's.
Umm, look around you- you are surrounded by morons.
You are being lied to and manipulated again! Thanks Government, Media and all of the people who collect and cherry pick their data.
Talk about ignorance...... Katie, it's people like you that give legitiment disorders a bad name, and cause other less knowledgeable parents to deny their children help for issues. Both my daughter and I have ADD. As a mother, I have read extensively on the subject – something you appearantly have NOT done. BAD PARENTING IS 'NOT', AND I REPEAT – NOT, THE CAUSE OF ADD. If you know nothing about the subject, you need to keep your mouth shut. My parents were great! And I am a great parent!
Some of these comments crack me up. Yeah, you go on and believe that your second hand smoke doesn't cause harm. Second hand poison is still poison.
So is breathing emission fumes
Again, just for yuks.
what utter crap – if its truly so bad OUTLAW IT – but its not too toxic for all its taxing potential....
Yeah, any criticism of smoking is BS. So go ahead and blow smoke in your babies face. I'm sure it's perfectly healthy.
smokers are an intelligent bunch, eh ?
This is more of the same tired science that I've seen before. I don't smoke, did but quit. If we start outlawing harmfull either directly or indirectly where does it stop. I thing we need to ban cell phones, cars, fast food, computers television, electricity and indoor plumbing. All of these are/can be harmfull to a person.
Excellent idea, I will start collecting the data and get some of these experts to massage and manipulate the data until we can prove these things are harmful to us and will kill us. Should take a couple of weeks.
Spare me!!!!Our mothers used to smoke while breastfeeding.Stop having your kids at 40!!!!!!!!!!!
Come on people its 2011- people with half a brain stopped smoking decades ago!
I found a cure for my kids ADHD. It's called working hard as a parent, focusing on behaviors and consequences and also a bit of medicine. Our elementary school tells me it's an amazing transformation. Last year he was getting sent home weekly and this year he's now a math wiz.
This is another BS straight-from-the-butt-give-us-more-research-grants "study". If this were even remotely true, it's bone jarringly obvious to all except the twit who reported on this study (not the researchers, who know perfectly well they're full of it) that kids raised in the 50's and 60's would have the most neurobehavioral disorders in all of modern history, NOT kids raised today, who, even when exposed to cigarette smoke, are exposed to FAR less second hand cigarette smoke than the kids of several decades ago.
Enough wiith the second hand smoke!
Limit the kids' use of computer use, texting, and sugar laden snacks/poison and the figures will drop dramatically for ads.
None of the things you've listed has been linked to ADHD, you putz.
no it doesnt.
Well, that explains my brother.